Mystery Box

Building language development through group and individual questions, hypothesizing, and conversation. Building vocabulary by exploring new items.

Materials Needed:

1. Medium-sized cardboard box

2. Construction paper/ stickers/ box decorations

3. Glue

4. Old t-shirt (neck and chest needed, the rest cut off)

5. Double stick tape

6. Household items

Activity:

Cut a hole into the top of a cardboard box and allow your children to help you decorate the outside of the box with construction paper, stickers, paint, etc. Cut an old t-shirt across the chest and use double stick tape to attach the neck opening to the edges of the hole in your box. This will create a curtain to keep the items in the box a mystery until they are pulled out.

Place numerous items into the box. These can be common household items that adults see everyday, but that may be new and interesting to children. Choose items with different textures, shapes and materials. Allow the children to pull out one item at a time and ask engaging, open-ended questions to encourage language development, conversational skills and critical thinking skills. The children can guess what an item might be before he or she pulls it out based on what it feels like inside the box as well. Once they see an item, allow them to hypothesize what it's function might be and where they might find these items in their home.

Domain:

Language Development

Skills Learned:

Language, vocabulary, social skills, observation skills, critical thinking, cognitive development