You have come to the right place if you are looking for fun, engaging and exciting Box themed activities to do with toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners. Our activities are widely used by teachers, moms, dads, child care providers and more!

All our activities are available at no cost and are free to print and share. Select below to get started.

Box Arts and Crafts

Box Sculptures
The children can bring in empty boxes/cartons. Tape them closed and have the children use them to make box sculptures. The boxes can be taped to one another, painted, and decorated. It’s amazing to see children arrange the boxes to form animals, robots, and buildings.

Box Easel
Select a sturdy box, cut off the top flaps or remove the lid. Then cut the box in half diagonally. Set on the table like a tent. Tape paper to both sides of the easel

 

Box Games and Activities

Box Cars
We made cars from boxes big enough for the child to get in. After we made them, they “drove” them for the rest of the day!! Each car requires:
1 styrofoam meat tray(license plate) (if you go to the meat counter and ask for clean ones, they will give you some – for health reasons, don’t use ones that have already had meat in them)
1 paper plate(steering wheel)
4 aluminum pie plates(wheels)
7 paper fasteners to attach the steering wheel and wheels and license plate felt markers to decorate steering wheel and license plate paint string, yarn to make loop to “wear” the car

First pre-cut a circle large enough for the child to fit in on the bottom of the box. Cut off the flaps on all sides of the top. Have the children paint the box circle side up, adding headlights etc.

When the paint is dry attach the license plate to the front and have them use pens /markers to fill in the plate with their name. I attach the 4 wheels by puncturing the cardboard first then pushing the metal paper fastener through the pie plate and securing.

The steering wheel is placed flat on the top of the front (hood) of the car. Then I punch a hole through the left and right (door) side near the top and loop enough wool through for the “car” to sit at elbow level.

I hope you can visualize this. It was a lot of fun and took us almost a whole day!!

Empty Food Box Blocks
Use empty food boxes, such as cookie cereal etc to make blocks. Tape the tops closed and cover with bright paper.

Phone Booth
For dramatic play get a tall box, cut a door and turning it into a phone booth complete with chair, phone and telephone book (of pictures and real telephone numbers of the children in the class). Maybe even add with a coin slot to deposit our poker chip “coins”.

Wall Phone (for your booth?)
Cover a med size shoe box with paper. Draw a rotary dial in the appropriate place. Attach a string to the side of the box Then attach a paper cup to the string. Tape another paper cup under the dial for a mouthpiece.

Feelie Box
Cut a hole large enough for a child’s hand out of one end, Place a object inside and have child put hand in the hole and guess what the object is.

Cardboard Vehicles
Cut the top and bottom off of a box and decorate to look like a police car, etc. Either make straps that go over the child’s shoulders or cut out handles to hold on to.

Story Prop
Teacher makes a colorful eye-catching box, tied with ribbon, stars stuck to it and 15 pipe cleaner pieces twisted around different places on the ribbon.

Have the children recall parts of the story by asking questions……. How many locks does the magic box have?………How many stars?……. Where did the magic box come from?

The children can help count the stars on the box you made, they can count the locks (pipe cleaner pieces), and children can come up and untwist the locks as you prepare to open the box. When you lift the lid, have each child come up, close their eyes and reach in to pull out a surprise. (fill the box with small trinkets that the children can take home with them.)

Valentine Candy Boxes
You can make cotton ball candies and put them inside. You can number “candies” and have the numbers in the box for matching and counting activities.

Jewelry Boxes
Collect many jewelry boxes (with lids) of all sorts of sizes and play a game where the children have to match lids with boxes. We will classify from smallest to largest also.

Which Size?
Have several sizes of boxes and several sizes of objects. Ask which box size/shape best fits the object?

Nested Boxes
Wrap several layers of boxes and have fun passing them around until the last
box which will have a treat for each kid.

Outside Play
Don’t forget a box OUTSIDE, or several outside. The play will be much different in the outdoors. Maybe several boxes hooked together for a train?

Mystery Box
Have a child get a box, find something that can fit into it, and let the others try to guess what is inside (like 20 questions.)

 

Box Songs, Poems and Finger Plays

MY BOX by Debra Ghigna
Each day we like to climb inside
My box where we can play and hide,
A cardboard house of make-believe
For teddy bear and me.

We sail my box just like a ship,
An ocean liner on a trip,
Around the world from sea to sea,
My teddy bear and me.

Sometimes my box becomes a train,
A boxcar roaring through the rain.
I shine my flashlight bright to see
For teddy bear and me.

But when my nap time comes again
My box becomes a bear cub den,
A quiet place where we can be
Just teddy bear and me.

from “Christmas Is Coming” by Charles and Debra Ghigna,
Charlesbridge Publishing, 2000.

 

 

Dear Reader:  You can help us make this theme even better!

All of our theme ideas have come from our imagination and from reader submissions.  Please use this form to contact us if you have crafts, activities, games, recipes, songs or poems that you would like us to add to this theme.