Empty cardboard boxes became a learning tool and inspiration for a preschool classroom at the A. Sophie Rogers School for Early Learning, and the educational success generated by those boxes became the subject of a presentation by the teachers to an international audience at a professional conference.
Luanda Cunningham and Ashley Keener spoke at the International Association of Laboratory Schools (IALS) annual conference in Rhode Island in March about all that went into their students’ decision to transform the boxes into a castle. The students were active participants in choosing what to do with the boxes, and in how to design and decorate the castle.
“The kids led all of this,” Cunningham said.
The castle project was an example of a Reggio Emilia approach to early learning, utilizing the philosophy of 20th-century Italian educator Loris Malaguzzi. Malaguzzi believed children should be active participants in their own learning, allowing them to develop their critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration skills.
Cardboard boxes provided an ideal starting point for this learning project, since the children first had to figure out what to do with them.
“Boxes offer endless possibilities,” Cunningham said.
The decision to create a castle came through a student vote, which provided an opportunity for the class not only to make a choice, but also for the class to accept the decision and reconcile with classmates who had different opinions. Once the decision was made, then the teachers brought books about castles and images of real castles to class for the children to read, view and discuss. In this way, the castle project also helped develop the students’ literacy and language skills, as well as providing an introduction to history, geography and social studies.
Finally, the students needed to take the knowledge they gained about castles and apply that to the design of their cardboard creation. Studies learned about architectural drawings and blueprints, and they learned to work together to decorate their castle.
All told, the castle project occupied students’ interest and attention for nearly three months, an impressive amount of time for a preschool classroom of children ages 3 to 5.
At the IALS meeting, a poster detailing the castle project was on display, with Cunningham answering questions from other attendees. Cunningham and Keener also spoke about the project during a presentation session.
The IALS organization represents university-affiliated schools — with students ranging in age from early education through high school — that are involved in educational research, teacher training and curriculum development, like the A. Sophie Rogers School with its connection to The Ohio State University and the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy. Member schools are located around the world, and presenting at the event allowed Cunningham and Keener to connect with teachers at similar schools both in the U.S. and internationally.
Other conference attendees who learned about the castle project were so impressed, that Cunningham has already been approached about discussing the project in an online presentation to teachers at a school in California.
Even though the cardboard castle has long since been recycled — this was a final lesson for the students from the project — it will continue to inspire other teachers and other classrooms on how to engage young children’s innate creativity.
