Post by Contributing Writer Jennie

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE doing my Christmas shopping online! When the packages arrive on my front porch I am not only excited for the contents inside, but I am just as excited for the boxes they came in! Around our house, boxes equal hours of play time fun for all three kiddos! They also provide an excellent activity to teach spatial awareness.

Here is what you’ll need: boxes of various sizes and a few toys

To get started, set the box on the floor with a few toys inside of it and invite your little one(s) to come and explore.

Gently set your baby inside of the box or let your bigger kids climb inside.

I started with a smaller box that Twin Girl and Twin Boy could see out of, and then I moved them to a bigger box that had taller “walls.” This was a fun place for them to “hide” and play peek-a-boo.

I took this box and opened up both ends to make a tunnel that they could crawl through.

We also have a really big box that they could all walk or crawl inside of.

Our all time favorite box is one that their Daddy made into a “fort!” He cut a little door out of it and some windows too. They absolutely LOVE crawling in and out!

I laugh to myself when I see my kids try to squeeze through a tiny gap between our furniture and the wall because I know that there is no way they can do it; however, they do not know this yet. They need those opportunities to understand how their body size and shape fits in a given area. Using boxes to teach spatial awareness to young children allows them this key opportunity.

Jennie is a stay-at-home mom to a 3 year old boy and 1 year old boy/girl twins. She received a degree in early childhood education and has several years of experience teaching both Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten prior to having children. She realizes that as busy moms we need simple ideas that will make a BIG difference to our young children!