• Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Who is Sarah?
Something Silly

. . . and maybe delicious.

  • Who is Sarah?
Life with Child  /  05/21/2013

Transform a cardboard box into a fun word game

by Sarah Lipoff

This last week I received several boxes of wonderful things in the mail. Instead of breaking them down and adding to the recycling, I decided to have some fun and create an easy word game for the tot. She’s right at the point where encouraging letter recognition would be a really good thing, and instead of heading to the store and paying big bucks on some plastic game, or one that she’d only play with for a week and then toss aside, I upcycled one of those cardboard boxes into a fun and interactive game that could be enjoyed — and then eventually recycled.

Simply cut away the sides from the cardboard box using a scissors or paper cutter. You probably won’t be able to cut completely through if using a cutter, but it does help create nice, straight scored lines, which can then be cut with the help of a scissors. I created four squares to use for creating matching letter and number games.

cardboard game

Now use the trimmings to create the squares for the letters and numbers. I found around a one inch square was the perfect size.

cardboard game2

Use a black marker to write letters and numbers on the squares. You could do all capital letters, lower case letters for encouraging advanced learners, and numbers up to 100 — or even higher! I kept it simple and wrote out the alphabet in block letters along with numbers 1 to 20, reserving any blank squares for replacing lost numbers and letters later.

cardboard game3

To create the game grids, use a ruler to mark each side of the cardboard squares and one inch intervals and then draw straight lines to create boxes. Now you can fill each box with a number or letter, create words, or even number combinations. Because my little one is just starting to figure things out, I kept things pretty simple. You can even have a theme for each square, such as one for only numbers, and others for letters, or short words.

cardboard game4

I helped my daughter spread the letters and numbers on her work table and offered her a square to fill in. I was amazed as she found the first match and stayed engaged while filling in the rest. We spent over an hour going over the numbers and letters and finding their matching spots on the game cards and exploring number and letter recognition.

cardboard game5

I was so excited my daughter loved her new game, but loved even more that it was made from a recycled cardboard box, which basically cost nothing to make.

Looking for another fun way to repurpose your cardboard boxes? Make a cardboard box oven for hours of pretend play….

 

 

Tags

  • child development
  • projects

Post navigation

Zucchini cornbread muffins
Easy and healthy baked zucchini Parmesan

Share your thoughts Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • This DIY Herb Garden Is So Pretty
  • The Supreme Banana Bread
  • Tips for talking with your child about art
  • Spring vegetable quinoa pilaf
  • Cooking with kids: Super easy homemade tuna cakes

Recent Comments

  • Sarah Lipoff on Lightened-up summer chicken salad
  • Nicole P. on Lightened-up summer chicken salad
  • Stephanie on Cooking with kids: Super easy homemade tuna cakes
  • Bunny Roberge on Mango lemon marmalade
  • Ryan R. on Chocolate cream cheese cookies

Archives

  • May 2018
  • December 2017
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • August 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • July 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010

Categories

  • About Food
  • About Life
  • About Me
  • Art Activities for Kids
  • Cool Stuff
  • Dinner Every Night
  • Life with Child
  • The Bay Area
  • Uncategorized

Search by Tags

  • activities for children
  • Art
  • art activities for kids
  • art and children
  • art development
  • Baby Behavior
  • Baby Development
  • Being a Mom
  • blueberries
  • books about fall for kids
  • Celebrations
  • child behavior
  • child development
  • children
  • color theory
  • cooking
  • cooking with kids
  • Earth Day art activity
  • eating
  • fall art activity
  • fall leaves
  • family
  • fine-motor skills
  • food
  • Fox and Friends
  • Fox News Network
  • health
  • healthy cooking
  • Healthy eating
  • Holidays
  • learning about fall with kids
  • Life with Child
  • muffins
  • Parenting
  • Po Bronson
  • Praise Craze
  • projects
  • quinoa
  • recipes
  • recycled art
  • Red Dress Club
  • Sarah Lipoff
  • spring art activities
  • spring recipes
  • summer art activities

Recent Comments

  • Sarah Lipoff on Lightened-up summer chicken salad
  • Nicole P. on Lightened-up summer chicken salad
  • Stephanie on Cooking with kids: Super easy homemade tuna cakes
  • Bunny Roberge on Mango lemon marmalade
  • Ryan R. on Chocolate cream cheese cookies

Pages

  • Who is Sarah?

Categories

  • About Food
  • About Life
  • About Me
  • Art Activities for Kids
  • Cool Stuff
  • Dinner Every Night
  • Life with Child
  • The Bay Area
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • This DIY Herb Garden Is So Pretty
  • The Supreme Banana Bread
  • Tips for talking with your child about art
  • Spring vegetable quinoa pilaf
  • Cooking with kids: Super easy homemade tuna cakes

Archives

  • May 2018
  • December 2017
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • August 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • July 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • Elara by LyraThemes
  • Made by LyraThemes.com