Paper Bag Challenge: Making Mail

Paper Bag Challenge, Tinkerlab has sent out a call to join in a series of fun creative challenges. The first challenge we are taking on: to tinker with and use at least one paper bag along with any other materials of your choice. Projects should be child-directed, but grown-ups are welcome to join in the fun if the mood strikes!

kid in a bag

Usually, if we have paper bags in the house, we promptly use it as a fire starter in our wood stove, so we are in need of materials. We put away our cloth grocery sacks for a morning and go grocery shopping, asking for “paper please.”
I leave the paper bags on the floor of the dining room for a while, to see what the kids might do with them unprompted. Little K crawls right in.

our materials are ready

When he’s done exploring, together, we cut open the bags to make them big flat pieces of paper. (Much like I used to do when covering school books)
And they hang out like this in a pile on the floor for about a week, until we can all agree on a way to use them.

And a functional use for the bags reveals itself when we need to wrap a package to go to Cousin J in New Hampshire.

wrapping a package for mailing

We are busy lately, with a cardboard mailbox, writing messages and stuffing envelopes. We play with leftover and junk mail envelopes, but we use them up at a fierce pace.
…another use for the paper bags…

I find this envelope template on IntimateWeddings.com.

I turn some of the paper bags into envelopes for the kids to address with markers, cover with stickers and mail to imaginary friends.

We wrap other little jewelry boxes in paper and extend the somewhat weaning interest in the mailbox. I leave the envelopes and newly wrapped boxes on a table next to the cardboard mailbox.