Junk modelling giraffe

Taking my own advice for turning this half term holiday staycation into a fun filled PLAYcation, our making box is well stocked with packets and boxes and old wrapping paper this week. My eight-year-old especially loves junk modelling and it amazes me how she can delve into a box of junk, select a few boxes and re-appear an hour later with a creation.

I love encouraging junk modelling because of course it’s a fabulous free activity, and it challenges children to be creative, think about sizes and dimensions and problem-solve as they create their masterpiece.

Today B made a junk model giraffe. I asked her if she set out to make a giraffe or if the boxes she found suggested it to her and it seems this time she was fulfilling a brief requested by her little sister, who wanted a new animal to live in her safari park.

You can see she’s used sticky tape to fasten the body parts together, which is the girls’ favourite method for sticking as they never want to wait for glue to dry before they start playing. I’d recommend getting a weighted tape dispenser which makes it much easier for kids to use the tape by themselves, so they can grab some when they get a creative urge. The giraffe is stuck to a platform with a ribbon attached so it can be pulled along and go for a walk.

What might your kids  junk model this week? If they’re in need of inspiration our archive has dragons, snakes, castles, double decker buses, houses and a city to spark some ideas.

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happily shared with child centred art party mini masterpieces and  kids get crafty