Today is Boxing Day, and while adults have their traditions, for kids it’s a day for some kindergarten readiness fun and learning while playing with BoXes. Boxes can be every bit as much fun as the toys that were in them. After all the stimulation of Christmas, kids need a way to limit all that excitement, and a cardboard box can help kids contain their bodies and their emotions.
A box might look empty but it is full of potential for play. Children can imagine many scenarios such as a bus, a rocket, a house, a fort, a store, a post office, or whatever else interests them. Even though the possibilities are huge, the space is small so it is much easier for kids to feel a measure of control.
Kids can create what the box will be and they can also determine the rules. They can explore as far as their imaginations will take them from the safety and security of a box.
Not only does a box meet the need for being able to control a space, it also helps kids adapt an ordinary object for a particular purpose. Their imaginative play also gives them the opportunity to develop creative skills. These are more than kindergarten readiness, but lifelong skills that adults need, too.
The following youtube video was adapted from the book Not A Box, by Antoinette Portis. Any day of the year can be Boxing Day, but today there’s a very good chance that there are a few empty ones at your house. Are there some that your child can use for fun and learning?