Sailing Indoors

Cardboard is a fantastic resource for children to create with and is easy to collect year-round. With the increase of online shopping, a glut of recycled cardboard is available. Children use cardboard to create and express all types of ideas. A few months ago, the children gained access to large furniture boxes. The children shared their excitement to work with the boxes since they were much larger than the cardboard used for our everyday project work.

Expensive materials are not required to offer a successful and enriching program for school-age children. Children enjoy simple materials like paper, glue, cardboard, and tape. They also enjoy markers, sharpies, and a host of recycled materials. Simple materials motivate children to explore their imagination and create. Children love testing creative ideas and using their finished creations in play.

The children started repurposing the furniture boxes, working in small groups to create different boats. The children used packing tape, string, and masking tape to build their boats. Each boat looked different depending on the age of the building group.

Children like to form groups and work on shared ideas. The energy of these encounters is both creative and competitive. The children share ideas fast and furious as they work toward a consensus before the actual work begins. Like a rowboat, the children’s creative work moved forward when their ideas moved in a similar direction.

The children added interesting features to the boat structures as the work progressed. Some boats featured interior doors, while others had secret compartments for storing special items. A few boats had storage compartments located on the outside of the craft. Next, the children added paint to the exterior of the boats. Each crew added images and lettering on the outside and inside their boats. One crew used paper to create original drawings they glued to the floor of their boat. The same crew made a flag out of paper and a flagpole out of cardboard. The creative work required much experimentation to keep the flag from falling to the ground.

The children used a combination of ideas, experience, and imagination to create the type of boat they wanted. The actual construction was a process of trial and error. The crew members shared feedback as the children made new items and attached them to the boats. Many items were moved or adjusted to help create the boat each group envisioned. This type of collaboration is beneficial in building the learning community. Working in small groups, children learn how to work together. They share ideas and see new ideas come to life in the work.

Work continued each day. One boat builder and crew started creating new interior accessories for their craft. The group added a TV and remote using metal sheets as the screen. The crew members created an image with markers and paper and attached it to the screen.

When children choose their work, they look forward to revisiting it each day. The children’s creative energy embraces new ideas they are eager to express through their work. Creative project work is enjoyable for children. The children share the joy of their work through verbal expressions as they build and share their happiness by telling stories to other children.

Another crew converted their boat to a house. After adding new parts to the inside of their boat, the children decided that it was more house than boat. They explained the transformation by sharing, “This is a house, not a boat.” I learned the house contained a garage, lamps, and fireplace during a house tour, all created from recycled materials. The same crew also built a furnace for the house out of cardboard. The crew continued collecting recycled pieces for their work. When I asked them what they were adding to the home, they said, “We need to work on the kitchen.” The crew added a microwave, bathroom, clock, and sink to the house kitchen construction by the end of the day. 

Through experimentation, the children realized their boat transformed into another work. They discovered that a house would better fit their needs as they played in the structure. The group was not concerned about taking a different path. They wanted to fill their vision and not feel limited to the original idea. The beauty of cardboard is the freedom to explore with infinite possibilities.