Building the Eiffel Tower with boxes
Today we are welcoming At Home with Ali. I know the exact post of hers that caught my attention…. Miniature Campsite. (Enjoy her post today and plan to see her again. We have a little surprise up our sleeve for next month!)
Hi, I’m Ali from at home with Ali and I am thrilled to be guest posting at A Mom With A Lesson Plan today. I have a 4 year old daughter, Cakey, who likes to make things all the time. So, I have gotten into the habit of secretly stockpiling boxes. Small, strong boxes are my favorites such as cosmetic, sticky tape and tea bag boxes.
When my stockpile was big enough I choose the right time to unveil it. Recently the sun was shining and my younger daughter was safely out of the way taking her nap… the perfect time to reveal the latest box collection. I asked Cakey if she would like to make something with them. I was thinking a city but she immediately wanted to make the Eiffel Tower. One of her favorite books is Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans and she loves the illustration of the Eiffel Tower on the cover.
Armed with our boxes, a roll of masking tape and our copy of Madeline, we headed outside. Cakey started stacking boxes as I handed over long pieces of tape for her to stick them together. I had to resist the temptation to help her make it look more like the ‘real’ Eiffel Tower. I tried not to get in the way too much, I handed out the tape and occasionally pushed a piece of loose tape down so the whole thing didn’t collapse. Cakey eventually banned me from touching it after I broke the top off trying to ‘help’.
Cakey used all the boxes, it got so tall she had to climb onto the table to reach the top. I also brought out our box of wooden sticks to use in the construction – she taped most of them to the base of the tower.
Once all the boxes had been incorporated into the tower, Cakey wanted to paint it. She chose blue, green and pink paint. I added some silver paint to each tub to give the colors a metallic look. She asked me to help her paint it and together we got the whole tower covered in metallic color. We also made some criss-cross lines with the paint – copying the girders on the Eiffel Tower.
Cakey’s Eiffel Tower looked spectacular but it did have a serious lean – resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa! When the tower was dry we carefully carried it inside. Overnight the battle of balance was lost and the whole thing toppled over… but as with a lot of 4 year olds she was no longer interested in her tower once it was made. So with the cycle of life, those little boxes found their way into the recycling bin.
Ali’s blog at home with Ali chronicles her creative journey with her two young daughters – making all sorts of things, painting, gardening and having a bit of fun.
I love Cakey’s tower, and her determination and follow-through are palpable. Fab!
Cakey’s tower is fabulous! What a great process and finished sculpture.
Thank you, Cakey was very happy with it at the end. I have started my next stockpile of boxes for her.
haha! It could also double as the leaning tower of Pisa! Great that you didn’t intervene! That’s always so hard to NOT do! 🙂 Looks great and super idea….
It is so hard not to intervene sometimes, I had to restrain myself…. plus she did not want me to touch it.
Love Cakey’s Eiffel Tower!!
Thank you. I am so glad to have been able to post it here… thanks Jillian.