1.3 Shadow Box / Swiss Cheese Box

Fun for Anyone... but specifically for our Young Makers

Shadow Box

One of our PreK classes recently prototyped this activity in the Innovation Lab. This is such a simple way to create a portable theater to create a shadow story or just create fun shapes with your hands.

We used this tutorial from KidSpot and the box turned out perfectly.

We did NOT get as fancy as creating an arched stage for the Theater - we just cut a simple square out of the bottom of a shoe box. If you wanted to spend a little more time on this, you could even design curtains from construction paper or extra fabric you have laying around at home.

One piece of white tissue paper works great for your shadow screen, but it would be neat to experiment with different materials you may have. Wax paper has also worked well.

Shape Puppets

The simplest kind of puppet you can create would be a basic shape. Use dark paper, like black construction paper, to block out as much of the light as possible and cast the sharpest shadow.

A straw or small skewer can support your shape puppet. You could also experiment with string and even brass fasteners to create a marionette puppet.

[Watch Mrs. Delia give a quick tutorial on how to create a basic shape puppet.] A tip is to place the puppet perpendicularly on the straw, so you can hold the straw from behind the puppet, and it will not show!

Watch Mrs. Delia's videos to learn how to make your own light box and shadow puppet.

Swiss Cheese Box

This home-crafted Montessori-style toy is a great way to get our Youngest Makers building and creating with cardboard.

All you need is a box, cotton or puff balls, and a little bit of tape. You might want to choose a box that can fold flat, in case you want to pack this new toy in your diaper bag next time you are out and about.

An adult should cut a few holes in each side of the box, slightly smaller than the diameter of the cotton balls you will use. In the lab we would use an Xacto knife to get a slit started, then use a canary cutter to round out the hole. At home, you may want to get the hole started with a letter opener or serrated butter knife, or carefully with the tip of scissors (adults only!).

If the holes feel too jagged or sharp, you can line them with a little smooth tape.

Gently tape the box lid closed (you'll want to be able to open it again) and then provide your young child with a bowl of cotton balls or craft puff balls. The goal is to push all of them through the holes into the box!

Of course, you can decorate the box together, make numbered holes to practice counting, make 26 holes to practice the alphabet, color each side a different color, add stickers - whatever would suit your little one best.