The Motherhood Diary

Build a cardboard neighbourhood

The Motherhood Diary

Turn a few empty boxes into a small town, complete with the places your family thinks every neighbourhood needs.

An empty cereal box can be a library, a block of flats or a very tall bakery. This town grows from the places your child knows and the ones they wish existed. There is no model to copy and no reason every road needs to be straight.

What you need

  • Three to six clean, dry cardboard food boxes
  • A large sheet of paper or a flattened cardboard base
  • Crayons or washable markers
  • Paper scraps, a glue stick and paper tape
  • Scissors for an adult to use
A child and another person draw together at a small table covered with colourful marks. Illustrative photo for this preview activity.
Illustrative photo for this preview activity. Photo: F aint / Unsplash.

Before you start

An adult removes staples and any sharp packaging, closes open box flaps, and cuts out any windows your child requests. Keep cutting tools with the adult. Put the base on the floor or a low table where everybody can reach it.

Make your neighbourhood

  1. Ask your child to choose three places the town needs. A home, somewhere to get food and somewhere to play make a useful beginning.
  2. Lay the empty boxes on the base without sticking them down. Leave enough room between them for wide roads.
  3. Draw doors and windows on paper scraps, then glue them to the boxes. Add signs using pictures, letters or both.
  4. Draw the roads around the buildings. Add crossings, gardens and a place for people to sit.
  5. Tape the buildings lightly to the base, or leave them loose so the town can change tomorrow.

Take a tour

Let your child guide you through the town with a finger. Ask where someone could go on a rainy day or how a new neighbour would find the park. For a variation, build a town for a favourite story character.

Photograph the finished layout if your child wants a record. Store the buildings in one larger box, cap the markers and recycle scraps that are too small to reuse.

Illustrative photo for this preview activity. Photo: F aint / Unsplash.

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