That Fun Reading Teacher

Fun early literacy and social-emotional learning tips, resources, and more!

  • Inspiring literacy
  • Storybook Lessons
  • Early Literacy Skills
  • Feelings & Social Skills
  • Writing for Real Purposes

Fun ways to use boxes in the classroom (and freebies!)

February 19, 2020 By: thatfunreadingteachercomment

There are so many fun ways to reuse cardboard boxes in the classroom, that I have developed a tendency towards hoarding them!  Family and friends know to save iPhone and iPad boxes for me.  Each day, it seems, I grow even more fond of boxes over plastic bins for many purposes. Bins can be hard to separate, become brittle and crack, resulting in sharp edges and cuts.

I am making less trips to the dollar store to replace plastic bins this year, spending less, and feel good about reusing boxes that can later be recycled.

My favorite reusable boxes:

  • smartphone (You will see iPhone boxes used in a number of photos throughout the post)
  • tablets (I covet iPad boxes because they are the perfect size for the BINGO games I make, are super sturdy, and look nice and tidy stacked together on the shelf)
  • large, strong Eggo waffle boxes (great seasonal book organizers)
  • good quality boxes from electronics or greeting card sets that have attached lids or doors
  • cube shaped courier or cup / mug boxes
  • empty tissue boxes (more on this coming – just buy same design in bulk when on sale, trust me!)
  • giant boxes for dramatic play
  • shoeboxes for student creations, dramatic play
  • small clementine crates (I know, they’re wood, but thought worth mentioning here) for Nativity scene stable

Here’s a timesaver to help you get started on box collection:

Here is a note for requesting cardboard boxes for your classroom! Just download the PDF!

 

Smart phone boxes:

Are you a fan of learning through play? Do you believe that some things just have to be memorized? Smart phone boxes have the potential for so much fun in the classroom! Think of the vehicles and habitats that can be created, for example!

I use iPhone boxes for putting a fun and playful spin on my pile / your pile card games to motivate kids. I have always used my tried and true theme of wanting to fill up my dungeon (iPhone box) with sight words, but this can be applied far beyond that! There is a video of this game in action on this product preview on TpT.  My kindies love it, because I always ensure that they have just the right collection of cards in their themed envelopes (that they have chosen, and match other iPhone box covers) to be challenged, but still win. I also tell them that there is no need to practice at home, because I really need to fill my dungeon.

Needless to say, they get pretty excited about it, and do practice at home!

This is just one way to use smart phone boxes. Imagine all the other possibilities!

Fun, free sight word game made from iPhone box! #sightwords #teaching #earlyeducation #learningthroughplay #ThatFunReadingTeacher

The free sampler version is an Under-the-Sea theme. You can download it here if you’d like to try it out!

 

Tablet boxes:

Is there a better made, more useful, disposable box than the iPad box? Consider the size, sturdiness, and nearly blank canvas of it. These boxes stack well and are forgiving when I need to adjust something I have taped onto their smooth surfaces. Informal research on kindergarten and primary teachers indicates that the iPad box is the clear winner in the small box category!

Tip for a polished look: laminate what you’re placing on your box, and place with double-sided tape. Seal edges with quality, clear packing tape!

I have used iPad boxes for BINGO games so far, but they are also great for storing papers. They looked so nice that when I made my two feelings BINGO games, I made cover art for the iPad boxes and included it right in with the games as part of the product:

Pictured above: Feelings and Emotions BINGO games for the K-2 crowd, and for older students, in beautiful iPad boxes! Also available in The Dealing-With-Feelings Everything Bundle (Best Deal!)

 

Miscellaneous boxes:

I, like many teachers, frequent the Dollar Store and own my fair share of plastic bins, buckets and organizers. I was so disappointed last year when I took out the buckets for my sorting games, struggled to separate them, then realized they had cracked! They were brittle and unusable.

Here is the solution I was, and still am, very happy with:

Yep – I updated the labels for my Syllable / Season sort activity, traced the Eggo box size onto large construction paper, attached the labels and laminated. You know what’s great? We can use sticky notes on the empty sides to SORT ANYTHING!

Do you ever buy boxes of greeting cards for all occasions? I have bought a few over the years. I kept the boxes, even after the cards ran out. Here’s why:

They are sturdy, have a flip-lid, bright design and a great size. Everything for the syllable / season sort center is easy to find when we need it! I have another box the very same size containing a number of my Dealing With Feelings resources (but have not yet put the art together for the outside of the box!)

 

This is an older greeting card box that actually fits letter sized folders in it! I keep master copies of Alphabet images for refilling my index card box (pictured in this post)!

 

We made an ambulance!

Want to see your students’ eyes light up? Bring in a massive box for them to design and transform! When our librarian saw my students delivering the attendance by ambulance one day, she told us about the story Not a Box. Have you read it? (More on our medical journey to come!) I’m currently updating Hospital Dramatic Play after learning so much from my students!

What other fun ways do you use boxes in the classroom? If you’re like me, you are likely a Bankers Box and tissue box fan, too because you find organizing fun! A conversation for another day…

Be well, my friends.

Fun ways to use boxes in the classroom (and freebies!)
Pin319
Share26
Tweet
345 Shares

Join the email list…

and receive the latest blog posts and newsletters - and to receive your FREE subscriber gift - a ten page storybook lesson that can double as posters, based on my popular TpT freebie - The Top 3 Prompts for Beginning Readers!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome!
Canadian mom and literacy teacher sharing great content from years of fabulous on-the-job training, and the best of what I find on the web. Background in teaching kindergarten and primary grades, Reading Recovery and special education

Let’s Connect:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Search this website!

Popular Posts and Pages!

Earth Day Playlists - free!
Teaching the difference between letters and words
Management tips for teaching virtual kindergarten!
Earth Day (and week) Read-Aloud Stories
Earth Week / Day Songs and Poems
Earth Day posts, resources, links and more!
Earth Day is coming: A Writing Freebie, and the flexibility of 3-part Graphic Organizers
The benefits of a Reading Buddies program

Join my email list…

and receive the latest blog posts and newsletters - and to receive your FREE subscriber gift - a ten page storybook lesson that can double as posters, based on my popular TpT freebie - The Top 3 Prompts for Beginning Readers!

Everything Seasonal!

The Dealing with Feelings Series

The Top 3 Reading Prompts

Teaching reading - The top 3 reading prompts for emergent readers | ThatFunReadingTeacher.com

Canadian Education K-3

Canadian education resources and content for primary and kindergarten students!

Kids’ Stuff

Instagram

thatfunreadingteacher

Kindie, Primary, SpecEd., Reading 📖 Rec trained teacher 👩‍💼. Tips, freebies, resources,playlists 🖥 for teaching K-3, early literacy, social-emotional

ThatFun ReadingTeacher
A great quote from Walt Disney that I'm putting up A great quote from Walt Disney that I'm putting up to help me with my anxiety. I would go further and say worrying actually makes everything harder, wouldn't you? Self-care time for many of us, would you agree?
.
.
.
#selfcaresunday #mindfulteachers #teacherselfcare 
#teacherfriends  #ThatFunReadingTeacher
It's almost Earth Day! Our students have many idea It's almost Earth Day! Our students have many ideas to share about ways kids can help the earth! This fun K-3 free printable is a great way for them to get their ideas down! Grab it here: IG - Earth Day link in my profile or http://bit.ly/EarthDayFreeWriting
·
·
·
·
#teaching #earthday #free #tpt #thatfunreadingteacher #learningisfun #printable #noprep #iteachk #iteachkindergarten #kindergarten #iteachfirst #earthdayeveryday #iteach #iteachtoo #graphicorganizer #teachersofinstagram#teachersofig #kindergarten #secondgrade #kindergartenteacher #teachersofinstagram #teachergram #teachersofig  #differentiate #homeschool #teacherspayteachers #teachersoftpt #primary #tpteasel
This was how I imagined hybrid teaching when I fir This was how I imagined hybrid teaching when I first heard what it was - except worse, because I teach kindergarten. I had intended to teach in person this year, but after four days of set-up, the option to go virtual felt like it was meant to be. It was six weeks later that I learned about the hybrid model. Those of you who teach in this model are heroes. I know this is at huge personal cost to health and family life. Until the new variants cropped up, many teacher friends of mine seemed to express more anxiety around getting through each day in this model than they did over getting the virus itself. How has it been for you? 
.
.
.
#covidteaching #hybridteachers #teacherlife #education #thatfunreadingteacher
Timeless message from an amazing teacher. . . . #t Timeless message from an amazing teacher.
.
.
.
#teach #strength #ghandi #teacher  #ThatFunReadingTeacher
Earth Day is on April 22nd! Students have many ide Earth Day is on April 22nd! Students have many ideas to share about ways kids can help the earth and 3 part graphic organizers are a great way for them to organize their thoughts! To read about the flexibility of 3 part graphic organizers and get the link to the Earth Day K-3 Freebie, please see the Earth Day page in my profile. Great way to try TpT Easel free!
·
·
·
·
#teaching #earthday #free #thatfunreadingteacher
Dealing With Feelings storybook lessons now horizo Dealing With Feelings storybook lessons now horizontal and TpT Easel ready! Want to share with your class virtually, but do not have student permissions in place for Easel? Simply open your own file on a tablet and share it with them as you would a picture book. Maintain full contact with your class, have discussions between pages and allow for questions!

See 'Dealing-With-Feelings' link in my profile, or go to your previous purchases in TpT for your free update!
.
.
.
#socialemotionallearning #teacher #onlinelearning #distancelearning #thatfunreadingteacher
Or what spring sunshine is to those of us who live Or what spring sunshine is to those of us who live with long, dark winters! What are you reading right now? I hope you are filling your cup after the year we have had!
.
.
.
#reading #readingtime #letsread #teacher #ThatFunReadingTeacher
The TpT site-wide Spring sale is on today and tomo The TpT site-wide Spring sale is on today and tomorrow! Be sure to tag your teacher friends, because there are great savings all over TpT! My entire store is marked down 20%, and if you use the code FORYOU21, you save another 5%! 
.
.
.
#tptsale #educator #education #teacherresources #thatfunreadingteacher
Reading and writing are often referred to as being Reading and writing are often referred to as being two sides of a coin. Here is what I learned about this reciprocal relationship in my Reading Recovery training, along with some tips for building cross print connections in kindergarten and first grade. Please see  All About Literacy page, linked in my profile! 
.
.
.
#earlyliteracy  #readingteacher #literacyteacher #teachingwriting #ThatFunReadingTeacher
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Teachers Pay Teachers

Pinterest

That Fun Reading Teacher © 2021 · Disclosure · BRANDING + WEB DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN