Global Cardboard Challenge: 2016 Playground Arcade Fun

The students really enjoyed watching the school principal
play cardboard mini golf. 

Today's Third Annual Happy Hollow School Global Cardboard Arcade was a big success. Fifth graders once again hosted the entire school during their lunch recesses to an array of homemade cardboard games.

Thanks to the tremendous support of family members, school staff, and all the students of the school, everyone had a lot of fun.

As one of the teachers in charge, I like to reflect right away so I don't forget what went well and what we can continue to develop for next year.

The positives included the following:

• Early year focus and activities to develop teamwork
• Lots of preparation including collecting cardboard, asking each student to bring in a roll of duct tape, ordering paint and paint brushes, organizing the STEAM materials, having a Team Build Day, and introducing students to the preparation videos, plans, and ideas. 
• Planning the date with lead time.
• Introducing the event to the whole school a week ahead of time.
• Asking a student to make the Fun Pass and asking a student to sell the Fun Passes.
• Asking a local moving company to donate cardboard.

The games were colorful and fun to play.

These are elements our team would like to include or increase next year:

• More paint, brushes, and lessons on successful painting, use of materials, and clean-up.
• Have students collect prizes over the summer by cleaning out their toy cabinets and book shelves.
• Even more efforts to increase teamwork.
• Assign a teaching assistant to teams that struggle with the project (there were only a few students who fell into this category)
• Collect a bit more string.
• Order better box cutters that are safe and easy for cutters to use--generally teachers did the cutting.
• Collect more fabric--old clothes, sheets, and towels are good for this.
• Perhaps buying some rolls of tickets and some inexpensive prizes to add to students' prize collections.

Students could donate $1 to buy a Fun Pass if they wanted.
They didn't need to buy a pass to play. The donations will
be sent to The Imagination Foundation to support creativity
in schools throughout the world. 

This is a BIG project. And in the one week time between the Team Build Day and The Playground Arcade, you have to be willing to live with the messiness that goes with the project. This year, however, like the two years before demonstrated that the project results in lots of fun, terrific teamwork, and super learning too. It's a keeper thanks to the many who gave it dedicated energy and a wonderful attitude.