Most children learn by doing hands on activities, so I always try to find some sort of craft or game to go with what we are learning in school. Recently, we did a unit all about communities. Now more than ever it is important to teach what it means to be a community and who it takes to keep a community going. I bet you already have the items you will need for this craft too!
Supplies:
- cardboard box
- construction paper
- glue stick
- hot glue gun
- paint
- markers
- popsicle sticks (optional)
- glitter (optional)
Building the Community
There is never a shortage of cardboard boxes in our house, especially around the holidays. Now you have a way to put them to use! Any large box will do. The size just determines how big your “community” will be. I used the bottom of the box as the actual base, then cut the flaps of the box to form walls for our buildings.
For the grass and roads you can use construction paper or paint. We chose construction paper because it is quick and easy. Add as many streets as you would like! You could also build trees or shrubs with tissue paper or popsicle sticks. We added a little pond with foil rocks and a slide. 😊
Depending on the age of your child, you can make the structures as elaborate or simple as needed. I was working with young ones, so we made them all about the same size and shape. They will need to be hot glued to the base to ensure they stay. You can then decorate them however you choose using paint or construction paper, or both! The signs on the buildings came from the same box as everything else. I just cut them out, labeled them and hot glued them to the top. We also left an opening in each one as a door.
I allowed my child to choose which kinds of businesses our town would include. You can find great clipart to print and laminate for the people of the town on sites like https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ or if you happen to have little figurines that would work too. Our town includes a Christmas tree, street light, pond, slide and matchbox cars. Here is the finished product!
This craft works well for any elementary aged child and can be easily adapted to meet your child’s personal abilities. An older child might design fancier buildings or add more decorations around the town. They could also help look around for recyclable items in your home that could be repurposed for this craft. The possibilities are endless! Happy crafting!
