| Like many people, my family are feeling the full | | | | showed. In one sense, the finished piece looked |
| weight of the recession, so the most aggressively | | | | exactly like an assemblage of old cardboard stuck |
| marketed toys and video game consoles are | | | | together with tape, but to the kids, nothing could |
| definitely off the shopping list for now! However, | | | | convince them that this wasn't a rocket. The fact |
| when I was clearing out some old cardboard boxes | | | | that it reached up to the ceiling only made it more |
| from my office a few weeks ago, I was reminded | | | | impressive! |
| of the old cliche: that kids get more enjoyment from | | | | The Response |
| the packaging than the gift. I decided to put the | | | | Maybe my kids are easily amused, but the |
| theory to the test, and I think the results are worth | | | | excitement in our home that evening was palpable! |
| sharing with other parents. | | | | The fact that it was big enough to house both of |
| Caveats | | | | my children was a big bonus, and soon their |
| First of all, I know that many people will read the | | | | imaginations took over. They were enacting little |
| opening paragraph above and wonder if I'm a | | | | stories, playing hide and seek, and they even figured |
| tree-hugging, anti-commercial luddite, so I want to | | | | out a way to move the rocket while they were still |
| assure you that this is not the case! Like many | | | | inside it. Bedtime stories that night revolved around |
| parents, I sometimes find it difficult to suggest | | | | flying to distant planets, but in the back of my mind, |
| activities for my kids to do, and I probably resort to | | | | I expected the novelty to wear off quickly. |
| using the TV more often than I should. This article is | | | | Over the following days, the initial excitement did die |
| simply one little gem that worked for me, and | | | | down, but to my surprise, it was replaced with a |
| hopefully others will benefit too. It is also worth | | | | different kind of enthusiasm: decorating the rocket. |
| pointing out the ages of my children: my daughter is | | | | Every day for the past few weeks, they've been |
| 4, and her little brother is 2. | | | | painting small patches, drawing little people on it, even |
| The Pitch | | | | sticking a little bit of kitchen foil on it to make it look |
| Armed with enough old, torn cardboard to bury a | | | | more like a spaceship. I was especially impressed |
| small car, a roll of packing tape and a scissors, I | | | | when they found some orange tissue paper left over |
| gathered the kids together. "Who wants to make... a | | | | from Halloween: they stuck it to the base of the |
| ROCKET", I asked. Immediately, their eyes lit up, and | | | | rocket because they thought it looked like fire! |
| I had their attention, although I did have to explain | | | | Conclusion |
| that it wouldn't really fly. | | | | I wrote at the beginning that I wasn't a frugal parent |
| The Build | | | | that would deny my kids everything their peers took |
| It was at this point I realized that I was going to | | | | for granted. However, I no longer look at this project |
| have to do a lot of the initial work myself, because | | | | as building a cheap toy, but rather as an engaging, |
| the cardboard was too thick for little hands to cut. A | | | | ongoing activity. There is a big difference between a |
| few of the boxes were reasonably intact, so I | | | | toy and an activity, and I sensed that my kids got a |
| quickly stacked them on top of each other to make | | | | lot more enjoyment out of this, than they did out of |
| the body. To get the kids more involved, I lay it | | | | many fly-by-night branded products. |
| horizontally on the ground, and got them to lie down | | | | So why didn't I try this before? In hindsight, I |
| beside it, so I could measure where to put the | | | | probably didn't think I would do a good job. Guess |
| window. After that, they 'helped' by crawling in and | | | | what? I didn't, but I know now that it doesn't matter. |
| out of the body, which had now been dubbed 'The | | | | If you're curious, I added a photo of our cardboard |
| Tunnel'. | | | | rocket at this page (before it was painted). Pretty |
| While they were busy, I cut out a few more pieces: | | | | rough, isn't it? And I'll bet you could do better, so |
| one for the nose cone, and a few for the fins. | | | | why not try it with your kids? I think it lit a small fire |
| Putting it all together was a snap, and took maybe 10 | | | | under their imagination, but they ran with it much |
| minutes from start to finish, and admittedly, it | | | | further than I expected them to! |