Carville

or, what to do with sick children and an excess of band-aid boxes.


We made little cars that were the perfect size for Little
People, Playmobil, Legomen and others of that ilk.

What we used:

• Band-aid (and other generic brand) boxes
• Scrap cardboard
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• Craft knife and cutting board
• Markers
• Stickers and/or construction paper for details

What we did:

Step 1
Opened up the boxes and cut a hole in one of the biggest sides:


This hole is centrally-located for a sedan-style car, but you
can move the hole to either end for a pick-up truck, truck
cab, train, tractor etc.

Step 2
Sealed up the box again, wrong side (i.e. the white side) out.
We like that this made little white cars for the kids to
decorate with their markers.

Cut a door in one side.
Cut scrap cardboard for the roofs of the passenger
compartments, cut front and back windshields out and glued on.


Step 3
Decorated with markers and stickers.
Stuck on (or drew) tyres, hubcaps, front and tail lights,
air-intake vents, license plates etc.

Here are some different styles our woolly
brains managed to think up:

The classic boxy convertible (minus retractable roof -forgot)

The classic boxy sedan-style car, whose roof got sat
on at least thrice before this photo was taken

The hot-pink boxy precursor to the VW Beetle

The boxy precursor to the Morris Minor

and the boxy pickup truck sans wheels
(too tired to care at this point)

We planned to do a little train engine and carriages
next, along with some trucks, but gave up and
moved on to Carville instead.

Step 4
We used 4 equal-sized pieces of cardboard and taped
them together at the back, leaving the front tape-free
for drawing. We marked out some roads and simple
intersections and then had the kids contribute ideas for
other features. It was so much fun to hear their ideas!

A bridge over a lake with ducks to feed
(too tired to make the ducks)

A pumpkin patch and flowers next to it

An apple orchard

A playground, sidewalks, lots of parks, construction etc.

The smooth surface of the cardboard made for very
nice driving/sliding conditions. Look - driving on the
left side of the road like we do in Singapore (and the UK)!
And on the right side of the road like we do here:

We used the little wooden traffic signs we had at home
but when we are up to a bit more high-energy scenarios,
we'll take out our cardboard traffic signal lights and play accidents.

When the kids were done playing, the playmat/playboard
was folded into quarters and put away. When we get more
cardboard, we might make another playboard with train
tracks and do a short train and a little train station.
Everything goes back into the recycling bin when the girls
get tired of playing of it, or when the cars get sat on
one too many times.