Celebrating a Day of Play

Once again, my classroom is a wreck -- and I couldn't be happier. This all started with the video below. If you haven't heard of Caine's Arcade, you really need to watch it.

I watched this video a few years ago, then remembered it again lately when I heard about the Global Cardboard Challenge. A day of play? Creativity? Innovation? It was an activity designed for my kids.

After watching this amazing video about the power of imagination (and a little packing tape), my fourth graders went all out with their version of cardboard arcade games. For the past few weeks, they've designed, cut out, failed, redesigned, stuck with it, and created some great games.

  It may look like a pile of boxes held together with duct tape (and, well, it is), but when you get close, the detail and ingenuity really come through. One child made his own bean bags, another figured out how to harness gravity to create a working ball return. This is the type of hands-on engineering that gets kids hooked into science and math.

Fourth grade's S.A.G.E. Arcade

Next week, we've invited the entire school to come play in their Arcade. If you have a few boxes and some packing tape lying around, I encourage you to unleash your imagination (and your kids), and create your own Day of Play.