Monday, March 7, 2016

SOLSC #7 What about two large boxes?


During the month of March, I am participating in
the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers.
Check out the Two Writing Teachers website for many more reflections on teaching.









A family donated two appliance boxes and we turned them into  a castle and a house. The children delighted in painting these, using rollers and brushes. Now, they  adorn our dramatic play corner and the preschoolers play here all morning long. I am fascinated by all the stuff the children drag into the boxes to add to their play - found objects, acorns, magnifying glasses, goggles, blocks, Magna Tiles, doll babies, markers. There's also something that simply must be removed when they play here: their socks and shoes. Why do they drag so many things in? Why do they remove their socks and shoes? Why do they have so much fun inside these two boxes? All I know is, it is so.



Here's some fun conversation I overheard, as children played together:

Here comes a dragon!
There's a bad dragon.
Some are taking shoes off. 
I am taking shoes off.
A cave!
The dragon is coming!
Come, I am in here!
It is dark.
Meow.
The dragon is here.

No, I'm not the dragon!
Hey, I'm in here, too.
Ooh hoo!
Put a cloth here.
You must be quiet from the dragon.
I need to get a blanket and tie it.
Put a cloth here.
A bear is coming!

5 comments:

  1. I absolutely love this! When we bought our first washer, the delivery man asked if I wanted the box for my daughter. I didn't think I wanted it, but decided to give it a try. Oh my how she played for hours and hours in that box! :)

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  2. I absolutely love this! When we bought our first washer, the delivery man asked if I wanted the box for my daughter. I didn't think I wanted it, but decided to give it a try. Oh my how she played for hours and hours in that box! :)

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  3. When my kids were little, I let them dig up the yard and build forts. I played in old cars and with old refrigerators, so i totally get the appeal of the boxes. Always fun reading about the preschoolers, so I think I'll write a post about the way my students use boxes, too!

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  4. Boxes! Better than the real article. They are so wonderful and creative! Thank you for sharing. Jennifer Sniadecki

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  5. How wonderful! There is so little of this kind of play in school these days. I'm happy to know that appliance boxes can still hold such charm. And the kids' conversation was delightful.

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