Being stuck in the house all day doesn't mean you have to spend your time staring at the same old walls. Instead, you can build new ones. With a few magazine and file storage boxes (sold at most office supply stores and discount department stores), you can construct an entire play village in an afternoon.
| Prep Time: Afternoon or Evening | |
| What you need: | |
| Ruler
Colored markers Cardboard magazine and file storage boxes Craft or utility knife Corrugated cardboard Craft glue Acrylic paints Paintbrushes (foam brushes are handy for painting large areas) Poster board or construction paper for grass and stepping-stones Dental floss or twine and a wide-eyed sewing needle for assembling a fence | |
| Seasons: Rainy day | |
| Materials: cardboard | |
| Instructions: | |
| 1. |  To construct each building, use a ruler and marker to draw
rooflines, window openings, and doors on an unassembled magazine
box. For variety, you can set the peak of the roof off center 2
or 3 inches as we did for some of the buildings pictured above.
Cut the cardboard (a parent's job) along the lines and remove the
side flap. Then assemble the box. For a long, narrow building,
assemble and mark a file storage box, as shown, and cut along the
lines. |
| 2. |  For the roof, cut out a piece of corrugated cardboard. To
figure out the dimensions, first measure the length of the upper
edge of the front wall and add a couple of inches for an
overhang. Then measure the width of the side wall, again adding
an inch or so. Fold the cardboard to create the roof peak and
glue it in place atop the building. If needed, loosely apply
strips of masking tape to hold the roof in place until the glue
dries. |
| 3. |  Now you can paint the roofs, window trim, shutters, and
doors and add any other details you desire. For example, you can
glue on a cardboard steeple to create a church or fill a barn
with packing-paper straw. For the finishing touches, cut out a
village green from poster board or construction paper to arrange
the buildings around and add paper stepping-stone paths. For a
fence, cut out a bunch of small corrugated cardboard pickets and
string them together with dental floss or twine. |
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