Rachael Rachael, a mom of two daughters, is a freelance editor and writer who enjoys gardening and dreams of keeping chickens in her suburban St. Louis backyard. In her spare time, she helps to edit her husband’s science fiction books. Read more of Rachael's work at www.rachaelsjohnston.com or contact her by emailing rachael@mumblingmommy.com.

This summer my daughters and I have been experimenting with Pinterest crafts and activities I’ve come across while browsing Pinterest. We started with a pipe cleaner fine motor activity and played with an ice block filled with toys. Last month we made a no-sew play tent using a sheet, a hula hoop, and some safety pins.

Most kids have returned to school by now and we consider summer to be over, but the Farmer’s Almanac states summer does not officially end until the autumnal equinox on September 22. So I’ll leave you with one last of my Pinterest crafts that is especially appropriate for the start of the school year.

Pinterest Crafts

I actually made this cute school room several years ago when I stumbled upon Pink and Green Mama’s blog. My oldest daughter was in preschool and just getting her feet wet in a classroom setting, so we spent a day crafting a school for dolls out of an empty diaper box. My daughters still play with it.

We cut windows and a door and pasted construction paper “wall paper” on the walls. I did a Google search for images of school bulletin boards, printed ones I liked, and cut them out to paste on the walls. I also found an image of backpacks lined up on wall pegs, as well as an alphabet chart to paste along the top of the walls. We furnished the school room with doll furniture we had on hand. We also made our own books using small folded pieces of paper, and I made a “bookshelf” out of an empty toothpick box. I decorated the outside of our school with blue construction paper and pictures of a playground and school bus.

You can make whatever rooms you want out of diaper boxes or copy paper boxes. The blogger who shared the idea has helped her kids make a dentist’s office and hospital room (search Google for poster images to print and paste on the walls), a day care, bathroom, baby nursery, and even a Little House in the Big Woods log cabin.

Parents always say their kids like playing with empty boxes more than expensive toys. This craft builds on that idea. So what will you make?

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Category: Family Free Time

Tags: cardboard box crafts