How to Make a Pagoda With Kids

Gather the children and ask them to bring in cardboard boxes of various sizes. Explain that the height of all the boxes should be about the same, but the bases should be of various widths, and all should be square. After you have an ample supply, assemble several boxes, from the largest base floor to the smallest top floor. You can use as few as three boxes to as many as six or more. The ideal boxes for this craft will have folding lids, to make the structure more solid.

Instruct the children to close the box lids and tape them shut. Lay a large sheet of card stock on your work surface. Place the largest box on it, and use a pencil to draw an outline of the box's base on the card stock. Do the same for each of the remaining boxes until you have outlines of all the box bases. Use a ruler to draw a diagonal line through each each square on the card stock. The line should extend outward from the square.

Use a ruler to measure outward 4 inches from each line of the square, and create a second square that encompassing the first square. Do this for all the bases. These new squares will act as the pagoda's overhanging roof portion. Use a utility knife to cut the diagonal lines from the second square to the inner square, and then cut the entire section out of the card stock with scissors. Make a crease in the first square lines (the base) with the utility knife. Fold the roof sections down, and tape the ends with masking tape so the roof section points in a downward taper and remains there.

Glue the first roof section on the top of the lowest, largest box. Use paperweights to hold the roof down until the glue is dry. Set and glue the next box over the roof, and weight it down. Glue the next roof over that box and weight it. Glue and weight all the boxes with their roofs in this fashion, ending with the roof on the tallest box, which will be the tower top.

Instruct the children to use craft paints and brushes to paint the pagoda in any color scheme they want; lack, gold and red are traditional pagoda colors. Assign each child a portion of the box or roof to paint. Let the pagoda dry. Tell the children to find ornaments for decoration, such as beads, push pins, small bells and tassels. Have the children glue the ornaments to the roof eaves and box bases. At your discretion, and depending on the age of the children, you can paint or cut out small doors and windows to give the pagoda a more authentic look.