Collaborative Post
Parents and children have learned a lot about each other during the past 3-4 months. Since we’ve all been in lockdown, we’ve understood how important it is to have a hobby and have a project. But what if both things could be merged? Parents and their children can achieve this by embarking on a totally new mission. It’s totally up to you how you do this, but you can start to build a city in your living room. Not only will this project be lengthy but there is so much opportunity for creativity and teamwork, it’s going to make your head spin! So what kinds of things can you do?
Your blank canvas
You need some kind of base for your city. You need a canvas which you can pack away, so you’re not having to give up an entire room for your project. Although, if you have a spare room for this kind of large scale project, feel free to use it. Your canvas can be a series of A2 sheets of paper. They can have roads drawn onto them so that whenever you lay down the sheets, you already have the basis of the city. Decide where buildings and streets will go, what kind of shops you’ll have etc. then mark them on the sheets of paper, by drawing squares along the roads and naming the squares so you know which is which. This also gives you the objective to fill each square in, by making the buildings from cardboard and paper.
The fantastic thing about making a city at home is, your children learn just how complex their own cities are. The infrastructure is particularly difficult because it involves a lot of planning. Once you have built a bridge, it stays there, you can’t decide on a different solution. The most fun you can have regarding the building of your fictitious city is the train tracks and the train stations. You can place one of the vintage trains from your children, from the Vectis Toy Auctions. These incredibly collectable train models are sublime, very detailed and truly authentic. The Hornby Dublo is a great classic train, with a sleek aerodynamic design and traditional color scheme, this would add a touch of class to your city.
You can make the buildings and homes out of anything. Use used cereal boxes for the cardboard, as well as any boxes from your package deliveries, or you could buy some from a craft shop. Use craft paper sheets to create different colors of buildings so it looks colorful. Draw windows and doors using felt tip pens, crayons and other drawing equipment. Once you begin to create a lot of roads and streets, you’ll also need to make street signs, and zebra crossings etc. it might get a little messy, but buy your children a paint kit which can be washed off. This way they can be as creative and messy as they like and your carpet won’t be ruined.
Making cities at home with our children is fun for adults too. We can explain how complex civilizations are and how long it takes to build them while living in a fantasy city of your own creation.