Junk modelling at school

[Whatisgoingonheredear]

I hate it.
I know it is good for their imagination, creativeness, design skills, learning through play.
DD has been back at school for one week and her entire bedroom is full of junk modeling. She likes to play with the junk bur doesn't actually model any of it. Empty boxes become houses, space ships, treasure chests, rockets. It's lovely But her bedroom floor is covered in recycling.
She gets very upset if I mention we can't keep any of it and every day she comes out with "just one more". There are always tears when I say we have fo get rid of an old one and it makes me feel dreadful because she's obviously built that box up to being the best thing ever all day at school. And of course it isn't that old because she's been back 6 days.
What do I do with all of the recycling?!?!
If we were closer to Christmas I'd say santa won't be bringing anything because he will see you have all these boxes keeping you busy, and get rid of them...but we are so far away.

Lighthearted but also...not.

Let them be children, it goes so incredibly quickly.

A kid in my primary class, considered to be pretty dumb by almost everyone, was obsessed with making things. Unremarkable at secondary school but progressed to making bigger things. Now he's an award winning motor racing mechanic, with the big teams fighting over him. He's also as happy as any adult I've known.

Why can’t she keep them? Put a shelf up and shove them on there

They are huge boxes that the school have had large deliveries in, they don't fit on shelves. They take up most of her room and stop me finding her actual things she needs.

To be clear, I'm not actually threatening santa. I've said this is a light hearted thread!

These aren't a few small items. In 6 days, we have got 2 shoe boxes, 3 very large boxes across 1m x 70cm that the school have had a big delivery in, and something else I can't even describe but it's also about 70cm x 70cm these are very hard to put away hence they've just ended up on the floor.

Please note the words LIGHT HEARTED but please also understand that some people really struggle to leave in a house with so many empty cardboard boxes littering the floor. I'm autistic and the mess is genuinely very triggering. So it stays in her room. I'm still allowed to hate it and wish one large item didn't come home every single day.

Also, the only reason I mention the santa line is because come Christmas we have nowhere for anything new for her. Do you not encourage your children to make space before Christmas for one or two new things

What a shame. I grew up on Blue Peter and Magpie, it was a wonderful world of sticky back plastic and matchbox drawers.
For Christmas fill a box of tape, glue, string, brown paper, paper clips, scissors, pipe cleaners etc for her, she’ll be in her element.

Encourage, yes. Threaten that Santa won't bring anything unless they do, absolutely no.
The school is being pretty unreasonable giving them multiple large boxes to take home as well. Perhaps a gentle conversation with them about reasonably-sized projects will not go amiss.

Buy her loads of cardboard construction tape, tissue paper, stickers sequins, washi tape, glitter glue, pens etc for Christmas.

And get 5 hooks on the wall/ceiling, she can display her best 5 pieces and photograph/recycle the rest.

Easy cheap present she will love!

Speaking as a teacher, I don't think the school would stop because of this! It's our job to inspire and develop children, not keep their bedrooms tidy.

Repurpose them into storage boxes you can actually use? Cut them up a bit and stick on stronger boxes?

Re-reading my OP I do realise it looks like I'm flat out saying she won't get Christmas presents because she has huge boxes everywhere. That isn't the case, it would just be encouragement to make a bit of room for new things.

Repurpose them into storage boxes you can actually use? Cut them up a bit and stick on stronger boxes?

I've actually already done this so that she can keep lots of them. We have decorated lots of the boxes to make boxes for her other things and boxes for the boxes. We've even made little beds for some of her teddies. We're maxed out 😂

She does have a huge box of craft supplies and our house is absolutely covered in all the pictures and drawings she does. Every room has them on the doors and there isn't a space on her bedroom wall that doesn't have a picture stuck to it. I have a folder with lots of her artwork in, too. We do encourage her to be creative and nurture this :) we are just out of space.

What a shame. I grew up on Blue Peter and Magpie, it was a wonderful world of sticky back plastic and matchbox drawers.

Matchbox drawers are a lot smaller than the 1m boxes she brings home daily!

Why can't you keep it? Why does it matter what her room is like? The Santa threat is so cruel. Chill out and just let her keep what she wants.

Mine was like this last year in yr1.. suddenly every bit of recycling became a treasure for his to make something with, rubbish everywhere 😂 I just had to ride it out and act fascinated at his creations. Most ended up in the bath at some poiny so had bits of disintegrated cardboard bunging up my plughole, but meant I could suggest that one was maybe ready for the bin 🫣

Creatives gotta create!

Cardboard boxes can be stored flat and rebuilt. So you can stack them under a bed or something. Just cut through where taped up. Buy your DD some transparent parcel tape if she's worried about reconstructing them.

Would you rather she were demanding Sephora Skincare and Ugg boots?🤷🏻‍♀️

They're small for the blink of an eye you know.

I used to take photos of it, leave it a week then get them to dismantle it and keep the parts that we could to re use. Give them a couple of storage boxes to keep it in so they can continually create new things

I even gave DS a photo book of all his creations one Christmas as a present and he loved it.

Would the slightly smaller models fit into one of the huge boxes maybe? Maybe suggest keeping a total of no more than x number. Any new one that arrives, another needs to go. Maybe take photos of each one so they wont be forgotten.
I get that you find it annoying as an autistic person (I am too) and ultimately you are her parent etc but also.......ultimately its her room. I wouldnt tolerate it chocka blocka with cardboard forever but I doubt she will either. Shes 5 and this is very likely a now thing, not a forever thing. But if you force it she may well hold onto it even harder.

I am not saying stop the projects altogether. Maybe I am behind on child development but I don't see how downsizing raw materials is going to interfere with that. Or maybe, as a teacher, you can contribute to their skills of letting things go and keeping things tidy... Just a thought.
Sending a child home with a weekly fridge box seems over the top.

My DD is nearly 17. She still happily makes lots of things out of old cardboard boxes.... I just shut her bedroom door...

Take photos of all of them so that they can be remembered. Then rule of one in one out and insist.

It's a terrible to let kids get into the habit of hoarding crap.

@Whatisgoingonheredear

I remember my son hopping off the school bus with an enormous 'robot' and the escort and driver sending looks of sympathy in my direction !
There comes a point when you just can't keep them all
Could you suggest to her - one in one out, she gets to choose which one 'leaves' but you take a photo and and put it in a scrap book for her to keep

I enthusiastically said that Mummy will love it.

/evilSMcackle

Quick qualification: both of mine did it and one ended up getting a Fine Art Degree and the other's a lecturer in Product Design and Sustainability now.

be thankful that when she gets that project to do she’ll be fully engaged and it won’t be you trying to fashion a drawbridge out of matchsticks at 1 am!!

You are being unreasonable and crushing her creativity. And you know it!!!!