Cardboard Box City

What you need

• cardboard boxes
• scissors
• markers or paint
• tape

How to do it

1. 1Put a box in front of them and ask: 'What's this going to be?' Accept whatever they say.
2. 2Parent cuts difficult shapes — curves, windows, thick walls. Child draws, decides, colours.
3. 3Add a roof from folded card if it needs one. Nothing else is required.
4. 4Make a second building and set them next to each other. You have a street.

Variations

• Korb-Tür: If they're uncertain or reluctant, start the building yourself. Draw a door, add a window. Say, 'I'm making a shop. What does your building do?' Children almost always respond when they see the building taking shape.
• Ausstieg: When energy is fading, introduce the natural endpoint: 'Let's add one more building and then it's time to pack it away.' The street grows to completion and becomes the stopping point.

What your child develops

• Spatial planning — deciding where doors and windows go before cutting
• Fine motor — cutting, folding, and taping cardboard
• Creative decision-making — no instructions means every choice is the child's

Safety notes

• Adult supervision required when cutting. Use child-safe scissors for child's cutting tasks.