Cardboard Boxes

About 6 weeks ago... 
the Sky and Trees were at morning park. It was a cloudy, dreary day, but as usual the children were playing happily. Suddenly a group of children started cheering and exclaiming. They had found something!  They took that something and started parading it around above there heads and chanting and whooping and hollering like warriors back from the hunt. 

It was a cardboard box... 

Here are Zaiden and Elijah with one half of it ... Below is Alex with the other half.

(It had been cleft in twain in a mighty battle)

As this our last blog posting before Christmas, you are probably expecting lovely pictures of children dressed as shepherds and kings, and shining stars and swaddling clothes.  

This is not that blog. This is a blog about a box.

Now, this was a plain old cardboard box that was falling apart a bit (by the time we took those pictures above, it was in two pieces).  You couldn't even tell it was a box at first because it was collapsed and flat.

Any grown up would have immediately thrown it away. 

But children can see things that we overlook...

This box could be completely flat, or fold out into a box!

This box could be open at both ends to look through!

This box could be carried or gotten inside of!

This box could be thrown and it would sometimes glide and sometimes spin and crash!

This box could be hidden in, and used to make loud noises. 

This was not just a box.

This was a treasure, a new way to be at the park, and a joy. 

I wish I had pictures of this merry procession and the time of exploration and discovery afterwards, but I do not. 

I wish I still had the box, but it was discarded, as it was in tatters by the end of park time. 

But do not fear! The children's love of this box was kept alive through storytelling and passion for this box grew until the teachers knew that we had to respond and bring boxes back to the park. 

And so they returned! In full force! Just in time, trusty and loving big kids (our winter term interns from the Middle School) showed up with strong arms with which to carry boxes to and from the park. And, oh, what fun we have had...

Our boxes have become habitats — houses, tents, caves, castles.

Our boxes have become modes of transportation — cars, submarines, plains, spaceships, tunnels, elevators.

Our boxes have become grand game pieces, theaters of comedy, projectile sails, and puzzles of folding and fixing.

We have cared for them (you will see many signs of taping and re-taping them) travelled with them, told stories about them. Through them we have conducted science experiments, become more aware of our bodies and how we move through space, we have created surprises, laughter, and nurtured relationships with big kids and with each-other.

In these last few cold days, these boxes were all that we have needed to feel happy, even safe and warm. What was the magic here? I think part of it was that children fit in them so well. This is a simple but brilliant thing; to fit into something just right and feel it hold you. But at the same time, they were not rigid. They move and bend and respond to the children. They are also light enough for a child to carry. In all these ways, the boxes were dynamic enough to respond to the endless curiosity, imagination and (with enough duct tape) energy of a child. This dynamic elevated the boxes beyond mere tools or toys (though they were powerful learning tools) to a place where the children have found a sense of power and belonging! 

Now, I am sorry if you were wanting a cute Christmas blog full of angelic, costumed pictures, but you will see plenty of all that on Monday and Tuesday when the children lead the Nativity worship! 

The story of a child born in a place that most would overlook. 

Any grown up would have immediately thrown it away. 

Certainly not put their child in it.  

But that little dingy manger was the perfect size for the child.

He fit into it perfectly! 

It was all he needed at that moment to be safe and warm and happy. 

You couldn't tell this baby was a King at first, you couldn't tell he was a savior because he was so little and poor and unimpressive. 

But this little savior king would give us a sense of power and belonging.

This baby was not just a baby, he was a treasure, a new way to be in the world, and a joy! 

Children have a way of seeing things that we overlook...

Let this be a gift to you this Christmas season. 

And as you buy gifts for your little ones, do not be surprised if your child is equally delighted by the boxes that they come in.