If you follow  my blog regularly you know there is almost nothing I like better than a fresh roll of duct tape.  You also know that I am a huge fan of National Geographic Kid’s awesome website Animal Jam.  I love when two of my favorite things get together.  Such fun can happen.  We made a super duper duct tape animal drop box for the kids at play group to enjoy this week!  I just love this investigation activity for kids.  Don’t throw away the next box that ends up on your door step.  Here’s what to do.

Start with any recycled box.  It can be big like this one or way smaller.  Cover the box in as much duct tape as you want.  This one has actually gone through a few layers, the latest being added by my 1 and a half year old daughter.  Can you tell which colors she did? Once you have your box covered just the way you or your little ones like it, take a box cutter (Seriously, box cutters are awesome.  If you don’t have one I highly recommend buying one.  They just make life so much easier.  I like this one.) and cut different shapes out of the box on one side or all sides.  We did small squares and rectangles on the big side and one big rectangular door on a short side.

Gather a bunch of animals and place them in a bucket or all along the box and invite your child over to see where they can drop the animals.  The side cutout is great for getting the animals out easily.  You can close it and open it after all the animals are dropped in.  We’ve actually had a few kids try to climb into the box.  No success yet but I’m confident someone will figure out a way.  If you’re looking to buy some animals like the ones shown in the pics, you can click here.

I love that kids of all ages can play with a toy like this.  Little ones can climb on top and push in the animals, like this little beauty above.  Older kids can try out the different sizes and make choices about best fits.  Imagination can bring a whole new dimension. Maybe it’s an animal garage or a zoo or outer space inside the box.  The possibilities are limitless.  Also, duct tape lasts forever.  You can hang onto this baby for a loooong time.  It’s kind of the gift that keeps on giving.  Which brings me to Animal Jam.

Animal Jam is a place where kids can explore, learn and create, three of my favorite buzz words.  We’ve been inspired by Animal Jam to make medals, (Animal Jam won a ton of awards for being an awesome site for kids.) create magnets, learn about chemical reactions in our Science Lab and now think “outside the box.”  Badumpbump.  There’s a lot of funky stuff out there for kids.  I’m constantly guarding my own kids from yucky commercials and tv shows jamming super lame ideas and product down their throats.  It’s really exciting to know that National Geographic, a brand I trust implicitly, is behind this super website for kids.

I hope this post leaves you inspired to do two things.  1. Create an awesome sensory activity box for kids and 2. Check out Animal Jam.  I think you’ll be really happy with both.  Have fun!

This post is sponsored by Animal Jam.  It’s great to work with such a terrific company.