Greetings, it's me, Alberto, but you can call me the Makerspace Guy!
When I started Makerspace at my current school, a very bright and creative 5th-grade student would often ask me, "Do you have any cardboard?"
You see, she had special projects she wanted to create. However, they usually involved using cardboard. Back then, I did not make it a habit to keep it in stock.
Not wanting to squelch her creative spirit, I'd go hunting through my desk for legal pads and spiral notebooks, then cut the backs off. When I ran out of tablets, I started emptying paper clip boxes, crayon boxes, empty paper towel tubes,... why, I'd scrounged the room for any and all kinds of board I could find!
The young girl's creations were always impressive, and eventually gave me an idea, "We need to start collecting cardboard boxes and tubes for every student!" ๐ก
Well, the thought of having to save hundreds, upon hundreds of cardboard items every week seems quite daunting. However, over time, I was able to find clever ways to collect and store it all.
Here are some "kid-tested/Makerspace Guy approved" helpful tips, hacks, and bright ideas to start collecting cardboard with your own Makerspace donation box:
GET THE WORD OUT
- Make announcements to all of your classes about collecting cardboard, especially to the youngest ones. --- It's been my experience that younger students tend to donate more often than those in older grades.
- Encourage students to ask family members from outside their households to save as well. --- We actually had a little girl whose grandma would ship her cardboard donations all the way from Arizona to Texas to help us out!
- Put out the call for donations on your school's Facebook page or other social media sites. It's a free way to get the word out,... and we teachers love free! ๐
BE SPECIFIC ABOUT YOUR NEEDS
As a rule, I tell my students and parents to only donate lightweight cardboard. In other words, cardboard that can be cut using "kindergarten scissors". Example: boxes for cereal, cookies, granola bars, toothpaste, soda cans, etc. --- I throw away all boxes with odors from laundry detergent, dryer sheets, or garlic toast, since some kids may have sensitivities to strong smells. Besides, they stink up the classroom. Pee-YOO! ๐ซ
Thin boxes are easy to cut and simple to fold, therefore they are perfect for Makers in kindergarten through 5th grade. Although, you may need to help younger kids cut holes in their cardboard.
BTW, any donations of thick, heavy packing boxes I give to the GT class, where they use more industrial tools to cut and build.
SET THE DONATION BOX IN A GOOD LOCATION
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| Actual photo of our donation box in the hall. |
- Place your Makerspace Donation Box out in the school's main hallway (with the principal's permission of course). Make sure it's in an easy-to-find spot, so students and staff can drop off their donations anytime during the school day.
- You'll want the box away from your classroom, so excited donors won't constantly interrupt your classes with news of their cardboard contributions.
HACKS & BRIGHT IDEAS
A.) Don't have storage bins for all your extra cardboard? Store it in discarded copy paper boxes with lids. They're usually easy to find on campus.
B.) Consider sorting cardboard in different storage boxes:
- 1 just for cereal boxes (a popular requested size)
- 1 or 2 for various size boxes
- 1 for toilet paper tubes
- 1 for paper towel tubes
C.) Teach your students to break down their boxes before donating. I've noticed that ripped boxes are often left unused, so demonstrate how to keep them intact and carefully flattened. This will also help fit more cardboard into the donation bin, plus allows for easier storage.
D.) Never, ever put out all the cardboard at once. --- Most kids are like locusts to wheat when it comes to cardboard. They consume, consume, consume!
E.) If you run out of cardboard encourage students to use cardstock paper as a substitute.
F.) Store your extra bins in other rooms. --- I am very fortunate to have a large storage closet available to me in the school library. It's a great place to hold the extra cardboard, as well as all the Makerspace equipment we are not currently using.
TOILET PAPER TUBES
Kids love using these for their projects! --- Though not my preference, we do accept toilet paper tube donations.
PAPER TOWEL TUBES
ODD SHAPE TUBES
Thick and odd shapes tubes can be saved for times when there is a shortage of regular tubes, or if someone needs a stronger one.
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Well, creative friends, I hope I've offered you some helpful advice, and have taken away some concerns you may have about including cardboard in your class projects.
Speaking from years of experience, the benefits of having cardboard available for students to create, far outweigh the efforts of collecting and storing it. --- Also, it'll help keep all your legal pads and tablets looking nice.
(Most of the pictures collected for the collages, as well as the photos used for this blog entry were all found online.)
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