by Claire Winlow (follow)

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I had my nephew and niece visiting for the weekend and the weather was cold and wet so we needed a fun project that could keep four kids happy. Luckily a few days before, a friend had received a large furniture delivery and I was able to take a couple of large cardboard boxes and so the idea to create a fun cardboard box play house was born.

Time: 1 hour or more depending on how much fun they are having
Age: Any Age
Level: Medium

Materials

Here are some top tips to create your very own cardboard box play house.

Make a plan
My husband and I had a quick brainstorm first on how to construct the house, where to put the door and the windows. Kids get frustrated hanging around so it was good to have a plan in place first.

Construction
We used two large boxes, firstly gluing them together with heavy duty PVA which the kids loved and then gave extra strength with strong heavy duty tape.





You can then mark out windows and doors and cut with a knife (adults only).



Try lifting the flaps of the box up and tape together to make a roof.



Preparation
If the weather had been better we could have decorated outside but as it wasn't, I prepared by covering furniture with painting clothes, laying out the paint and brushes in advance and having a large bucket of soapy water on hand to wash messy kids.

Decoration
This is such amazing fun and with such a large box to paint it meant that all four kids could be involved at the same time. The younger ones liberally applied paint everywhere and anywhere while the older ones made their own patterns and signed with a handprint.





Why not cut the rims off some paper plates and glue on the roof. We also made some window boxes to add some extra style.

You can decorate inside as well. The next morning the kids used crayons and pens to draw a television and other pictures inside and then filled the floor with cushions.




I thought the house would be around for the weekend and then it would be time to deconstruct and throw away but it's currently the best loved toy in the house and being played in every day so it seems it's here to stay for a while yet.


Categories
#Any Age
#Under 5s
#5 to 10s
#Recycled
#Top Tips
#Imaginative Play
#Parent Craft

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