People of all ages are encouraged to explore their creativity this month.
The Literacy for Life Foundation is participating in the Global Cardboard Challenge, an initiative of non-profit group Imagination Foundation, which aims to foster the creative side in children using recycled materials.
“The concept is you go through the month of September trying to get the community involved in it, the families, the children building things with cardboard and recycled items,” said Literacy for Life director Sue Stegmeier.
Creations will be displayed at the Wales Theatre in High River Oct. 1, during the annual Grate Groan Up Spelling Bee fundraiser hosted by Literacy for Life. The event coincides with the provincial Alberta Arts and Culture Days, which Stegmeier said is a perfect fit.
“It’s promoting what you can do with the cardboard box and the recycled items as an art piece,” she said.
The international initiative began after nine-year-old Caine Monroy built an entire arcade out of recycled cardboard boxes in his father’s used auto parts store in Los Angeles in 2011. A short film about “Caine’s Arcade” and the thousands of customers it drew made global headlines through 2012 and the Imagination Foundation was born.
The Global Cardboard Challenge aims to encourage children to be creative like Monroy and develop skills like problem solving and critical thinking, said Stegmeier.
“A lot of learning can take place with simple items like these,” she said.
At Literacy for Life, the definition of literacy is being able to communicate what you need and want so that others can understand you. It’s not just about reading a book or writing, but learning important communication skills, said Stegmeier.
In turn, she said the act of reading is more than just knowing words and letters – it is also problem solving, being able to take the words on the page and do something with them, think about them and apply them to the real world.
“The cardboard challenge is another way of building those secondary skills using very simple, everyday items,” said Stegmeier.
She said the most effective learning takes place within a positive environment and is driven by co-operation and community. The cardboard challenge encourages that style of learning by developing another essential skill – working together and building relationships.
“If you can get the kids and the families and everybody working together, that’s another skill that’s really important in building literacy and learning skills,” said Stegmeier.
Anyone planning to build a cardboard creation is asked to have it delivered to the Wales Theatre by 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 1, she said.
Stegmeier said she’d also like to see photos and videos posted to Literacy for Life social media, such as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to help share the success of creative learning in the Foothills.
She’s not sure whether there will be prizes involved.
“I don’t want it to necessarily be about who’s the best, it’s about the fact they did it,” said Stegmeier. “I think it’s about having fun, coming out and seeing what everybody else did and checking out the spelling bee.”
