Monday, April 2, 2012

Cardboard Box Shape Sorter

Imagine this – you just moved into a new place and unpacked all your stuff but you’re left with a massive amount of empty cardboard boxes. What can you do with them? Well for one thing, you can give them away to someone else that needs them or let your cat enjoy a game of hide-and-seek. If you have a toddler though, one neat project is to turn a large cardboard box into a shape sorter using materials that are easily available at home.

First you will need a large box, approximately 18x18x18 inches. Draw different shapes on all six sides of the box using a compass, ruler, and pencil. Rectangles, diamonds, circles, and hexagons are just some ideas. Cut out the shapes using an X-Acto knife. Trace each of the cutout circles with contact paper and then use a compass to draw a circle around it that is an inch bigger in diameter. Cut out the ring and paste it onto the corresponding circle on the box. Repeat the process for all shapes. It might be easier to use strips of colored masking tape for rectangles and squares. The final step is to use a hot-glue gun to seal the cardboard box firmly on both ends. Hand your toddler some play balls and toys to put through the holes for hours of fun.

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