A Little Cardboard Fun

Well, I got off work a little bit early and so had some baby-free time to get a little preliminary Christmas shopping done.  Which is dangerous for me, because I really can't seem to hold presents until Christmas if I have more than a month to wait.  I bought a steering wheel to add to Serenity's outdoor playstructure, and then immediately pulled it out for her to play with =)  She really loves this Dora episode where Isa the Iguana is steering a boat, and after watching her play with it on the floor for a day or so I had this little brainstorm...

Yes, my living room is now filled with a big, cardboard sailboat.  We've had a blast with it though!  It's pretty simple to make.  I cut off about a foot and a half from the bottom of a dishwasher box, and then cut out a shape that looked boat-like to me for the bottom of the boat.  Making the sail was a little more complicated, I used a long piece of cardboard and wrapped it into a tall rectangle, and then cut slits in the bottom of the boat and slid the flaps at the bottom of the rectangle into it, and taped it down.  I used one of our silk scarves for a sail, and rigged her fancy new steering wheel on a cardboard box.  You could make a wheel out of cardboard too though!  She's had a lot of fun with this, pretending to fish, asking me for a yellow coat and blue hat (like Little Bear wears in Gone Fishing) and of course, turning the wheel.

 

This would be great fun for a sailing birthday party =)  I drew on the waves, but you could let the kids decorate it with paints or poster markers.