Materials
Garden hose, 50' (15 m) long and 1/2 " to 3/4 " (12 mm to 18 mm)
Wooden dowel, 2' (60 cm) long, the same diameter as the hose
Saw (adult only)
Record and record player
Instructions
1. Briefly tell the story of Pandora's box. A simplified version:
Once there was a girl named Pandora, who was given a box. Her mother, her
father, and everyone told her not to open the box. She looked at it every day,
but she never opened it. One day, everyone was gone, and she was all alone
with the box. She looked at it, then she held it up and shook it. Finally, she
thought, "I'll just open it a little." When she slowly lifted the lid, many things
came out. What do you think was in the box? It was all the troubles of the
world. So if there are troubles, it is a good idea to keep them in the box and
leave them there. We don't want to spread them around the room or around
the world.
2. Talk about what kinds of troubles there might be in the classroom (for example,
fighting, taking things that belong to others, not sharing, not listening to
directions, or not cleaning up after ourselves).
3. Take out the box (if desired, cover it with contact paper beforehand). Say,
"See, it is now empty. But when there are troubles in our classroom, we are
going to write them on a piece of paper and put them in the box. Then we
will keep them inside and not let them out."
4. Appoint a child each day to be responsible for taking care of the box and
making sure that it stays closed.
5. When something happens (for example, there is not enough sharing), then
talk about it, write it on a piece of paper, and put it in the box.
6. If on another day that same behavior occurs, then wonder out loud, "Who let
it out of the box?" Then, put it back in. (Pull out the paper, look at it, and
very deliberately put it back in.)
More to do
Make a box for good behavior. Whenever the children do something special,
such as sharing, showing kindness, or behaving especially well, put a note into
the box. Each Friday, count and celebrate how many good things are in the box.
Pandora is a difficult name for many children. Select another name for the box, if
desired. Or change the name each day by using the name of the person who is
responsible for it.
