As the little old lady in the story found there is only so much you can put in one room before it feels like a squash and a squeeze.
We thought it would be fun to see how much you could squash into a box. This activity not only will help the children to practice their counting and awareness of size but hopefully will give you five minutes peace as they go on a treasure hunt both inside and outside.
1. Find a small box e.g. matchbox, small cereal box, breadstick box, Oxo box or even a shoebox.
2. Encourage your child to go around their house or garden collecting small items that will fit into their chosen box.
3. Once it is full, help your child to take out each item one at a time, counting each them as you line them up.
4. Take a photograph of the collection and put it on tapestry to share.
5. This challenge can be repeated again and again giving different rules e.g. red items, things you wear etc.
Another variation of this game if you haven’t got a box is to use Lego, Duplo or other building bricks to make an enclosure. See how many items, people or animals you can fit in your enclosure, remembering to count them as before, lining each figure up as you count them. Again don’t forget to take a photograph before you finish.
