Activity

Shoebox House

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Stuck inside on a rainy day? Encourage your child's inner architect with a shoebox creation that he can craft into his dream house, mansion or palace. If he wants to get really ambitious, he can even make a whole town of shoebox buildings!

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Grade

First Grade

Subject

Arts & crafts

What You Need:

Shoebox
Pencil
Tape
Ruler
Markers
Scissors
Glue

What You Do:

Have your child take the lid off of the shoebox and place it on top of the short end of the shoebox.
Show him how to use a pencil to mark where the lid hits the edge of the box. The lid will become his house's roof.
Have him carefully use scissors to cut the lid along the penciled marks.
Help him cover the “roof” with construction paper. Make sure he thinks about his color choices before diving right in. Does he want the roof to be the same color as the rest of the house?
Have him cover the body of the shoebox with construction paper as well. Help him secure the house's constrution paper "paint job" with lots of tape.
Now, get creative! Using other colors of construction paper and markers, show your child how to create windows and a door for the front of his house.
Let him use a marker to draw the house number on the construction paper.
Don't forget the garden. Have your child use green construction paper to create a lawn, bushes and trees for the front yard.
Let him tape this greenery to the front of the house.
What's next? Have your child determine the next step of his new estate -- or town. The construction possibilities are endless!