An Exercise in Creativity Part 2

What Can You Make With a Paper Bag?

by Jennifer Cooper, posted on July 25th, 2011 in Creativity, Ideas and Inspiration

Last week, the thermometer hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 degrees. To break up the arguing that came with being cooped up in the house together, I gave the kids a challenge. I handed them each a paper bag, some crayons, scissors and tape and said, make whatever you want.

You may remember from Part 1 that one of the kids decided to make a huge paper airplane. The other kid constructed a 3D movie screen. Here’s how it turned out…

Ticket please.

It's like it pops right out of the screen

Now, I have to say, the kids had a lot of fun with this challenge and they played for a good long while with what they made. I’m not sure if it was novelty or that they took extra pride in making it themselves. Either way, it was a pretty fun way to spend an afternoon.

If you try this with your kids, let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear about what they dream up.

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Comments

5 Responses to “An Exercise in Creativity Part 2”

Melissa Taylor Says:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:08 pm

love it — you’ve made such a creative environment for your kids!

And how do you get the black background in your photos? It makes the project look so beautiful. (Or is it a trade secret?)

[Reply]
Jennifer Cooper Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:21 pm
It’s a chalkboard wall. I painted one wall of the kids’ room in chalkboard paint this winter. It’s one of the best projects I’ve ever done.

I have to say, both his teacher and I think it really helped my son improve his fine motor/writing skills. There’s something about writing in huge letters that appealed to him. Now we use it as a word wall, coloring, whatever they want. Oh and of course photos. (that was an incidental perk that I discovered later)

Here’s the original post: http://www.classic-play.com/chalkboard-wall/

[Reply]
Melissa Taylor Says:
July 26th, 2011 at 9:40 pm

thanks, Jennifer – I wonder if it would help my daughter’s handwriting. A slant board helps but she hates it. She’s also much better in cursive which I find interesting. I don’t know why that is – do you? You can sort of see the difference here -http://imaginationsoup.net/2011/07/the-best-journals-for-kids/

We’ve had to leave OT for financial reasons, our insurance didn’t cover it. ($250 / session) I miss it!

again, thanks!

[Reply]
Jennifer Cooper Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Oh those slant boards are awesome.

I’ve been told that cursive is a much more natural movement and in Montessori, they actually start with cursive.

[Reply]
Melissa Taylor Says:
July 26th, 2011 at 11:20 pm

oh, that’s good to know. I think European countries start with cursive as well. At least in Spain they do. So why are school cutting it? *rhetorical*

[Reply]