| Genres: | Kids, Variety, Varieté |
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Every day, a small group of neighborhood children come and play in "The Box," an imaginary clubhouse made entirely out of painted cardboard boxes.
Along with their two caregivers, Tony James and Vivian Bayubay McLaughlin, the kids play games, do crafts, sing songs, and act out stories in the box.
Vivian is tending to some bean seeds that she planted last week which are beginning to grow into bean plants. They'll need soil, sunlight, water, and air. Vivian shows the kids how they can make newspaper trees. They play out their own version of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' in which the kids plant newspaper 'magic seed' that grows into a newspaper beanstalk. The friendly Giant learns what seeds need to grow.
The kids use their noses to sniff out where Tony is hiding some muffins he's made for them. They pretend to be different animals with different types of noses and make nose puppets out of paper cups which they use to play out their own version of 'Pinocchio.' Pinocchio, whose nose grows when he tells a lie, meets some animals and has a nose contest with them. He learns to be happy with the nose he has and all the great things it can do.
Vivian brings in her new pet mouse, Nugget, to meet everyone. Nugget accidentally gets loose in the box and hides. The kids jump into a picture, from Vivian's picture box, to ask a cool cat for some mouse finding tips. They make Nugget a little mouse house out of everyday objects and set out a mouse trail of mouse snacks for Nugget to follow. They play out their own version of "The Lion & the Mouse." Nugget returns and Vivian takes her home where she'll be safe in a proper mouse house.
Nicholas pulls around a make-shift toy decorated with eyes and a mouth. It's his 'practice pet' to help him decide what kind of pet he would like to get for his birthday. The kids try to help him choose by transforming themselves into different pets with the help of everyday articles from the costume box. Then, Vivian puts on all of the separate costumes to make one big fantasy combination pet - a 'kitty-parrot-bunny-dog.' They use this new pet to play out their own version of 'The Three Bill Goats Gruff' and learn that taking care of a pet is a big responsibility.
Dane brings in a toy boat which inspires the group to make their own little boat out of some corks and toothpicks. Vivian finds a picture of a ship's captain in her picture box and everyone jumps in for an adventure. The kids jump out and make a pretend ship that they all fit in. They play out their own version of "Captain Hook" in which they sail to a far away island to rescue him.
Jill's new toy airplane breaks its wing, and Vivian comes to the rescue with her glue bottle. While the glue dries, the kids make toy parachutes out of paper cups and tissue. They sing a parachute song and play out their own version of "Peter Pan", in which Peter forgets how to fly and is rescued by a friendly eagle and a passing airplane.
The kids make a pretend ocean in the Box. They use fabric to make pretend waves and sand. Wondering what it must be like to live in the sea, Nick and Vivian look in her picture box and find a picture of a crab and an octopus. They jump in and learn to "go with the flow." They jump out and make ocean drums out of pie tins and play out their own seaside version of, "Puss In Boots."
Everyone is playing with hula hoops - but Aleisha can't seem to get the hang of it. Everyone encourages her to stick with it and practice. The hoops remind the kids of a three ring circus. Aleisha and Vivian find a picture of a lion and a lion tamer in the picture box, and so they jump in and help the lion learn a trick. They jump out of the picture and decide to make their own Circle Circus with a strong man and a clown. They play out their own version of 'Humpty Dumpty' who joins their circus and learns how to walk on the tight rope after lots of practice.
The kids discover all of the fun things you can do with tubes. They use mailing and paper towel tubes to make tube suits, tube instruments and play out a story about a place where everything is made out of tubes - tube town!
The kids explore life in the jungle by jumping into a picture to meet a tiger, a toucan, and a snake. They make jungle animal masks out of a paper towel roll and a milk carton. Together they play out a story explaining how the toucan got her rainbow beak.
The kids find a bunch of boxes left over from when they built their clubhouse. They make box music, a box birthday cake and a box candy house which they use to play out their own version of "Hansel And Gretel."
The kids make outer space mobiles out of hangers, yarn and paper. They pretend to be astronauts and blast off in their own spaceship. Everyone plays out their own version of a folk tale about the sun and the moon.
Jill finds a real live caterpillar and brings it in to show Tony. Once they put it back on an outside branch, they all pretend to be caterpillars and turn into beautiful butterflies. Paper, paint and pipe cleaners are fashioned into butterfly art projects. Everyone plays out their own version of "THE UGLY DUCKLING" about a family of worms who take in a caterpillar that they think is a very fuzzy worm.
Tony shares a camping song, and the kids go on a pretend hike. They make yard stick fishing poles, and catch paper fish. They pitch a pretend tent, and play out a pretend version of "Little Red Riding Hood."
A magnifying glass inspires the kids to make a tiny town out of milk cartons, dominoes, and a soap dish. They explore size as they play out their own version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."
