Valentine’s is quickly approaching, how can you utilize those fun chocolate candy boxes that are given out as gifts?
As I have said before I try to save items and reuse them particularly in our homeschooling/Montessori lessons.
I cleaned out the candy boxes with the help from my family (we ate the candy inside) and then I cleaned the plastic try lining inside the boxes. The 1st candy box was for matching the shapes in the inner try shaped lining.
I have paint swatches from the home improvement store. I took the paint swatches and cut them to match the inside of the candy box tray. So my son had to match the paint swatch pieces into the tray. My son transferred the matching pieces into the try using tongs but for little children you could do it minus the tongs.
The 2nd candy box activity was placing the heart-shaped lids to the bottoms of the candy boxes. Being heart-shaped can be a bit tricky to match the bottom heart-shaped pieces so it takes practice of hand and eye coordination which this activity allows. I laid the bottom pieces out on the table in one row and then another row of the lids and he added the lids to the bottoms of the boxes.
The 3rd candy box activity I placed on the table with tongs and vase filler glass stones which he transferred with tongs – he filled each shaped lining inside the box to the tip-top (that was his choice).
The possibilities are endless! Do you use candy boxes in your learning lessons? If so how? Share by linking up below or leaving a comment!
Sunday: Heart Nap Time, Flamingo Toes, Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Show Off, 1+1+1=1, Sunday Showcase
Monday: C.R.A.F.T.Homemaker on a Dime, Boogieboard Cottage, Sew Can Do,Sumos Sweet Stuff,Pursuit of Function a Home, Alderberry,, Twelve0eight Craft-O-Maniac, DIY Home Sweet Home, Keeping It Simple, Mad in Crafts, So Much Better with Age, Skip to My Lou, Cupcakes & Crinoline Deceptively Educational, Living Montessori Now, Fantastic, Fun and Learning
Tuesday: Creative Blog, Hope Studios, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Linda’s Lunacy, Cozy Little House, CraftyTexas Girls, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Coastal Charm, Nap-time Creations, Elizabeth & Co., Rainy Day Mum, Learn With Play at Home
Wednesday: It’s Overflowing, DYI by Design, Southern Lovely, Vintage Gwen, Artsy Play,Creations by Kara, High Heels and Grills, Ginger Snap Crafts, Someday Crafts, Polka Dots on Parade, 36th Avenue, Life with the Crust Cut Off, Toddly Mummy, Rainy Day Mum, Simply Designing,
Thursday: The 36th Avenue, Shabby Creek Cottage, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Artsy Fartsy Mama, 52 Mantels, No Minimalist Here, live laugh rowe, Imparting Grace, The Girl Creative, Somewhat Simple, The Frugal Girls, Kid’s Activity Blog, Lessons Learned Journal
Friday: Living Life Intentionally, Create Craft Love, Flaunt it Friday, Blissful and Domestic,Happy Hour Projects, Close to Home (Recipes), Happy Go Lucky, Craftionary, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, Redoux, Simply Sweet Home, Liz Marie Blog, Shabby Nest, Thirty Handmade Days, The Stitchin’ Mommy, Whipperberry, Tots & Me (kids cooking), Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers,Homeschool Creations, Sunscholars, Turning Back the Clock, Feeding Big
Saturday: Cheerios and Lattes, Crafty Moms Share, Sugar Ants, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff, Tatertots and Jello, Or so she says, Your Homebased Mom, Too Much Time on my Hands, I Can Teach My Child
Those are great activities! My daughter’s OT therapist does similar activities with her. So that is brilliant to make your own activities from old Chocolate boxes!
What a great repurposing of the Valentine’s boxes. I’ve never even thought about utilizing those trays in a learning capacity. If I had known that trick when my kids were little, I would have insisted hubby buy me chocolates all the time. Oh wait, can we use this idea for 5th and 4th graders? Because I want chocolate now. 🙂
LOL I want chocolate now too, I am tempted to eat the box I bought for my daughter and am currently hiding in my desk. 🙂 I love this idea, I’ve never thought about using candy boxes for anything after I eat all the candy!
Wow, What a great way to use candy boxes. I had never thought of this before.
What fun activities to do during the week of Valentine’s Day. I bet they keep the kids busy for hours.
How cute is that?!?! great idea to repurpose those boxes.
What a great idea. I love this! Not only upcycling but fun too.
Noooo! This can’t be happening! I’m having trouble pinning this post! I would love to do this with my son! Thanks for sharing this with us!
I love these ideas for the candy boxes! I have a 2-year-old that could be kept busy for DAYS sorting colored glass beads like that!
Very creative. Such a great way to breath new life into those old boxes.
What a great idea!!! We don’t have any kiddo’s but I am for sure gonna share with parents, cause this is brilliant!!
That is such a cute idea, I really need to think outside the box – look at all the learning opportunities I miss!
Fun ideas!! And a great excuse for mom to eat more candy…..wait, did I type that out loud? 😉
This is adorable!!!!! Great way to use those candy boxes!
Such great activities! Not only are they learning something, they are having fun and recycling!! 😀
Fun activities, I would have never thought about that.
I love it when we can repurpose common things for learning tools!
What creative ideas! I don’t have kids right now, but I am going to homeschool when I do. BTW I love the Buzz shirt he is wearing! To infinity and beyond!
I love these ideas. I think my 4 year old would love this.
oh that is SUCH a great idea for those candy boxes – smart !!!
Those are such cute ideas and would be perfect for me. I could eat teh candy first!
I have never thought about this before but I will be trying these ideas with my kids! Looks like lots of fun!
cute idea. my kids would be on the warpath because they’d expect chocolates inside!!
I love this idea, that’s so very cute!! You could make your own creative mancala board, too.
A very good idea. You’re also teaching them to recycle and reuse – that’s a great win win. You’re very creative Nicole.!
What cute ideas… I have never thought of keeping the boxes to play with; how smart! Thank you
What a clever idea!! You’re such a smart Mama!
I’ll have to remember this for my 4 year old if we have any candy boxes enter the house this year. I love to repurpose items.
What a great way to reuse candy boxes! I wish my daughter was still young so we could use this idea!
Very cute idea…..you gave the candy box a new life! 🙂
What a great idea and such a fun activity!! So creative!
That is a great idea and green too! Recycle! Awesome!
I normally throw them away. I never thought about reusing them!
what a fun way to reuse valentine candy boxes!
What great ideas! I never thought to re-purpose candy boxes!
What great ideas! I can’t wait for all that Valentine’s Day candy to go on clearance after the 14th so I can grab some extra candy boxes to help my son with his sorting and counting!
What a smart idea! I never thought to reuse these.
Great ideas! These are perfect activites for our students. I pinned this and plan to use it as soon as possible. THank you so much for sharing.
What a great idea! I love reusing things like that!
That’s such a genius idea for using something we would have just pitched in the trash! Fun for kids!
This is great. What a wonderful way to recycle candy boxes into a great learning tool
how sweet it is! 😀
This is a genius idea. So easy and clever. I have some at home that I want to try this with.
What a great time of year to post this too, we just purchased our hearts to put aside for the holiday. I think I’ll share this idea w/my son’s teacher, she may want parents to bring theirs in for this idea too!
What a great idea for recycling instead of wasting them! Thanks so much for sharing – will pass this on to my SILs
That’s a really cool (and sweet) idea! I bet the kids had lots of fun (I know I would, hehe)
Great way to keep the kids busy!
That is such a novel idea. It’s funny but you can learn so much with almost anything but I really love this idea.
Montessori style learning doesn’t have to use all specialty, expensive equipment! Your post proves that. These were true montessori activities (I remember them from when my kids were little) using, well- reusing/recycling things from around the house! Great work!
My daughter is learning shapes now. I am definitely doing the first one! Awesome idea!
I can’t believe valentines day is approaching so quickly. Thanks for sharing such wonderful ideas!!
I love theses ideas! I’m going to put them into my Harper Box to share with her when she’s old enough to understand them!
These are really great ideas, I never thought to reuse those boxes!
Kids can learn by doing so many different type of daily activities. That is why I hate the thought of them sitting at desks for so many hours a day. The entire school system needs to be completely overhauled.
What great ideas! I re-use the boxes to make ice cubes, I will try using them to hold watercolor paint this year.
wow– what an awesome way to repurpose those candy boxes!!! and an incentive to get candy for valentine’s day 🙂
Great idea
I love this idea!!
What a great way to repurpose candy boxes!
Kas
What a great idea!!
What a great idea! And I am sure we will have many boxes after the 14th! Will have to try this with my daughter!
This is something I would normally throw away. I love how you put it to such great use!
Wow! Great ideas. I will never look at a candy box the same way.