Posting Box
A slot in a box. Toddlers will do this for forty minutes.
- Ages
- 12 mo–3 yrs
- Play
- 10–40 min
- Prep
- 5 min
- Mess
- barely any
- Energy
- calm
- Where
- on the floor
You’ll need
Things you probably have at home.
- a box with a lid
Optional
- scissors (adult use)Don’t have it? Amazon
- things to post
- pens to decorateDon’t have it? Amazon
How to play
Before you start: Cut a letterbox slot and a couple of round holes in the lid of a shoe box. Keep every hole bigger than a golf ball.
Show them once: drop an object in, hear it land.
Hand over the objects and let them post.
Open the box and tip everything out — the reveal is half the appeal.
Close it and go again. And again.
Once they have it, offer one object that does not fit and watch them work it out.
What it helps with
Keep it safe
- Every posted object must be too big to swallow — bigger than a golf ball is the rule.
- Adult does all the cutting; check for sharp cardboard edges.
Make it different next time
- Decorate the box together first.
- Sort by color: red things in the round hole, blue in the slot.
- Card slot: cut a thin slit in the lid and post old playing cards or cardboard squares through it.
Cleanup: Everything lives inside the box. Put the lid on and shelve it.
Three more like this
Learn something
Muffin Tin Drop
10–25 min 12 mo–3 yrs Low mess- a muffin tin or ice tray
- large objects to drop in
Learn something
Pom-Pom Drop
10–25 min 15 mo–3 yrs Low mess- cardboard tubes
- painter's tape
- pom-pomsto buy