Revving Up Their Cardboard Engines

Thinking outside the box is something students at FWCD learn right from the start. In January and early February, junior kindergarten students focused their studies on transportation. Their lessons culminated in the construction of various modes of transportation – from a cardboard box. The students enjoyed the Disney movie Cars before revving up their engines, with drivers’ licenses in tow, to show off their creations to families lined up for carpool dismissal in a car parade along the Butler Kindergarten Building and Fischer Dining Pavilion sidewalks.

“At the beginning of the unit, we introduced and researched all kinds of transportation from walking and roller skating to tankers and jet airplanes,” said Junior Kindergarten Teacher Sara Parker. “From there, the students chose a different mode of transportation that excited them.”

Parker read the book Not a Box by Antoinette Portis and explained to the class that they would be turning a plain cardboard packing box into their chosen mode of transportation. Step one: making a paper model of what they wanted their box to look like. “This is a crucial time for the children to experience trial and error, what would work and what wouldn’t,” she said. “They are becoming critical thinkers and problem-solvers without even knowing it!”

From there, the students began transforming their cardboard boxes into well-planned modes of transportation. They used geometric shapes to form things like the wings of an airplane or the wheels on a bike. They engineered seat belts and steering wheels from yarn and paper plates. 

“Thanks to this project, all of our students are thinking a bit more outside the box,” Parker noted.  “I have really been able to see the gears turning when it comes to planning, designing, participating, questioning, and observing what they are creating. This activity is such a creative and fun way to promote young children’s natural abilities as scientists and engineers.”