3 DIY Ways to use Cardboard: Posting, Colouring and Drawing!

Cardboard is  a great OT resource!

We know the value for children in using cardboard boxes in play. Using their imaginations and letting loose with the creativity.  Towers, kitchens, cars, roads, cubby houses... so many ways to use cardboard. When my children were younger, they would spend hours (days and months)  creating and playing with cardboard.  

Here are three ways that I've used carboard recently....in preparation to a return to face-to-face services in the not too distant future!

1. Posting Boxes
​I found some colourful images online. Printed and then glued them to some cardboard boxes.  I've covered the boxes with contact paper and the inserted small holes. The boxes I created were sized for matchsticks and pom poms. 

​Make these boxes to encourage fine motor skills. Made with some pictures stuck onto caroard boxes, covered with contact paper and small holes inserted. Use match sticks, craft sticks, beads, erasers, etc to post. Just adjust the size of your holes. A small screwdriver was an easy way to make small holes and scissors were used to cut larger holes. The contact paper gives a few more options with writing on top with a whiteboard marker. Practice number and letter recognition, learn to spell your name, incorpoarte simple maths, practice shapes and colour matching. This is a fun activity for toddlers or preschoolers.

​Watch the video on you-tube: https://youtu.be/TTYivdyNbAs

2. Toilet Paper Roll Pre- Writing Roads.
Made from toilet-paper rolls, coloured paper, a sharpie and contact paper. This is a fun resource made for preschoolers to help work on visual motor control and pencil control skills. 

This activity will also encourage bilateral coordination as your child will need both hands to hold and manipulate with their "helper hand" whilst drawing with their "worker hand". Contact paper means that this resource can be used and then wiped clean and then used again for drawing the roads. You could make this easier by drawing larger roads.

This concept (contact paper on toilet paper rolls) could be used with other ideas such as drawing faces, drawing lines, finding letters, I spy pictures to circle, etc. How could you use this concept with your child?

​Watch the video on You-tube: ​https://youtu.be/606zRm-_Fsc
​

3.  Raised Edge Colouring Pictures
This time I've used some cardboard, a sharpie and hot glue to prepare these coluuring pictures.  Draw a simple picture on the cardboard then go over the sharpie lines with hot glue (pva glue will work too).  The glue provides a physical tactile prompt (sensory feedback) to guide a child to colour within the lines.  

The novelty of the activity will be engaging for some children.  This activity will be particulary helpful for those children who have difficulty with visual motor control and visual attention to 2D lines and shapes. It gives them something physical (the glue) and matches it with the lines (2D - flat) so that they can begin visual awareness.  This activity will also be good for children who may be beginning to colour in the lines but become frustrated with themselves when they can't control their hands and the pencil (or marker). 
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We are so excited for an end to lockdown restrictrictions here in Sydney, although navigating a return to face-to-face therapy is not as simple as our families might assume. It was a welcome break from reading policies and writing updated risk assessments and Covid-19 plans to make these cardboard creations. 

These are all simple ideas that can make learning engaging and fun! So before your delivery boxes and toilet paper rolls get placed into the recycling box, why don't you give them another use.  Which one will you try? 

PS. To everyone who bought The Ultimate Therapy Bundle, don't forget to email me ([email protected]) with your receipt to claim your FREE regulation posters. 

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
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