"Not a Box"

What happens when children of different ages work together to turn a box into a "Not a Box"?

On Wednesday, October 12, students at Falk Laboratory School explored that question when they participated in a schoolwide “Not a Box” activity. Students at different grade levels teamed up, using a few simple tools and their own imaginations to turn a cardboard box into “not a box.” 

Working together in teams of buddies from the Primary, Intermediate, and Middle School levels of the school, students came up with an amazing array of “not-a-boxes,” from turtles, birds, and dinosaurs to haunted houses, old-style TV sets, motor homes, boats, and wearable helmets and robot costumes. 

Cheryl Capezzuti, Falk Middle School art teacher, gave students instructions on how to tackle the project. They began by viewing their prompts, a series of questions designed to get them thinking and talking. Students next sketched out the possibilities before moving on to cutting cardboard using scissors, butter knives, and adult help when necessary. After finishing their projects, the groups gave their creations titles and wrote stories about them.

Student "not-a-boxes" were then put on display in Falk Lab School's Primary hallway and in the Falk Cafe so that all students, faculty, and staff can view them.

The project was inspired by the book Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. In the book, a rabbit plays with a box in a variety of ways, only to be asked questions like “Why are you sitting in that box?” The rabbit’s reply, “It’s not a box!” is paired with images of what it’s imagining the box to be: a race car, a mountain, a rocket ship, among other inventive uses for the box. 

"Not a Box" is the first special event that Falk Lab School has held on one of its early dismissal Wednesdays, a monthly day when students are dismissed early, allowing faculty to engage in professional development activities.

Beyond offering students a memorable and fun activity, Not a Box served a very important purpose, says Falk Lab School director Jill Sarada: to present all Falk Lab School students with a shared experience.

Even before the groups formed and began imagining what their boxes could become, the students who assembled in Falk's gym were engaging in the important shared experiences of coming together in a shared space and getting quiet together; greeting friends and siblings across the gym; and listening as Sarada read Not a Box aloud to the group.

"Shared experiences bring communities closer," Sarada says. "We value these kinds of experiences and want to make space and time for them.

"These are the things that help a community grow stronger," she adds.