Bunch Family

Catherine Romano blogs about crafty projects for kids and parents

This week, my plan was to create a little city. I love model cities (the Queens Museum of Art has a great model of New York designed by Robert Moses), and my son likes to imagine driving trains and buses through neighbourhoods, so I thought this would be a fun craft project.  This is what we’ve made so far.

Materials:

• Recycled boxes from household products
• Construction paper
• White Glue
• Scissors

Process:
1. Collect recycled boxes from around the house.
2. Sketch out a general idea for your city (What kind of buildings will you include? Which box is best suited for each kind of building?)
3. Cover each box with a sheet of construction paper. Add decorative details such as windows, flowers, doors.

4. Once all of the buildings are complete, lay out a few sheets of construction paper and cut out a few pathways roads. Place the buildings on top of the sheets.
5. Name your city.

Notes

• This would make a fantastic project for a group of kids. Each child could be responsible for one building.

• Consider using other materials in addition to construction paper. For example, fabric (for curtains), pom poms (for flowers), or plastic wrap (for windows).

• If you are feeling adventurous, you could construct the interior of each building.

Catherine Romano moved back to Toronto from New York City. Since making a few of her dreams come true in the Big Apple, completing graduate school and working in arts management at New York City Ballet, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom to her young son. Now, back in Toronto, she embarks on an exciting adventure with her new love and lively 3-year-old son. For more art, design and culture for kids and parents, check out Catherine’s blog, sweet spectacle and follow her on Twitter @catromano