We made snow globe boxes in preschool

I want to show you how we made these fun little snow globe boxes in our classroom.

Yesterday, I shared how we had fun with our snow globe sensory play

The snow globe in the above photo is one I made. There is a little story behind this snow globe that I want to share first. My mom’s car was recently broken into during the night. Just to be clear – my mom wasn’t in the car at the time but in the process, the driver’s seat window was smashed and had to be replaced.  As a temporary fix, my husband covered the window with this special plastic you can find at Home Depot (and probably most hardware stores). You cover the window with the plastic, by taping it around the edges of the window, then use a blow dryer to heat up the plastic.  As the plastic heats up, it tightens really tight and is perfectly clear to look through. It feels kind of like plastic wrap, only thicker.

The box came with three large sheets (42″ x 62″) of this plastic and cost about $4.oo for the box – I found it on Amazon.  My husband used less than one-half of a sheet to cover my mom’s window so I asked him if I could have the rest.  As soon as I saw how cool it looked on the window and how easy it was to “shrink” the plastic, I wondered if it might work just as nicely taped around a box!  So now that you know about the plastic, let me share with you how we made our snow globe boxes.

The snow globe making process

I saved the boxes (tops and bottoms) from our Christmas cards that I had bought from the Dollar Store. Each child painted the inside of their box with blue paint.  For this process, it is best if you can find boxes that have sturdy sides like a shoe box.

Since we were going to use the blow dryer later on any way, I let the children use it now to dry their blue paint. This way, we could make and send home the boxes all in the same day.

I wasn’t worried if the boxes stayed just a tad damp from the paint.  Later in the day, we made our snowmen to put into the boxes.

The children were supposed to add eyes, nose, and a mouth to their snowman but most of them just colored the entire snowman with the permanent markers.  The snowmen are simply two connected egg cups from a white egg carton.

Next, the children added twigs for the snowman arms.  I had to help the children poke a hole for each arm so they could stick the twigs in the holes.

Once the arms were added to the snow man, the children placed the snowman into their box. No gluing was necessary – it is okay for the snowman to move around a bit inside the box.

Next the children added “snow” to their box. This was the same snow we used in our snow glow sensory tub.  I set out a small bowl of the snow with a teaspoon and invited the children to add up to 5 teaspoons of snow to their box.  Some of the children added a little more or less.

Once the children had added their snow, we set the boxes aside until later in the day – we had to break for snack.

The final thing to do was to add the plastic around the box.  Adding the plastic is tricky because you have to tape the plastic around the box without dumping out the snow or the snowman.  So needless to say, I added the plastic. I cut a square of plastic for each box, placed the plastic over the box, and taped the plastic along the sides and back of the box with clear packing tape. Then the children used the blow dryer once again to “shrink” the plastic.

All the wrinkles in the plastic smooth out and the plastic pulls tight around the edges. It takes about 30 seconds for the plastic to shrink under the warm blow dryer.  The plastic does not “melt” to the box – the plastic only shrinks so it is important to have it taped securely to the back or sides of the box beforehand.

Writing this all out is more complicated than it was to actually make the boxes.  The children LOVED their boxes and couldn’t wait to take them home. I tried to take a few pictures of the snow globe boxes before the children left for the day.

This plastic is some really cool stuff and I still have two large sheets of it left!

Available on Amazon

Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Latest Blog Posts

P is for Pizza!

While learning about the letter “P” we decided to explore with pizza! Pizza is an all-time favorite food for many preschoolers, and activities involving pizza

Read More »