Coin Box from the Milk Box

I was about to throw an empty cartoon milk box when the idea of recycling came across my mind. At first, I thought of making it as a container for my daughter’s hair clips and other hair accessories which she loves to play. It’s quite a sore in my eyes to see those clips cluttered everywhere in the house - my daughter leaves it anywhere. However, I got second thoughts when I saw three small empty bags which used to contain all her hair accessories in one corner of our bedroom and I came to realize later that my daughter prefers to play those hair accessories rather than keep it. So, when I saw the three coin banks of my daughter– she prefer to call it birdhouses –beautifully lined up on top of the speaker of our video cassette player, I got a pretty a good idea of making one. I knew that she will definitely love having an additional birdhouse, the two birdhouses are already full while the other one is half-filled. I started doing my birdhouse project while she was sleeping and I was half-way done when she woke up. She was very excited to have the birdhouse finished that she even offered to glue the sides even if I know she isn’t capable of doing it. I saw in her face how happy she was when I finished the birdhouse and immediately she asked some coins from me so she can put it in her new birdhouse. When her daddy came home that night, she excitedly showed her the new birdhouse and also asked some coins. Her grandmother who dropped by that night wasn’t spared from being asked to “donate” for her new birdhouse. If my daughter is asked what she will buy or do with the money in her birdhouse, her answer is, “for the bank”. I’m not so sure what she means with “for the bank”. All I’m sure of is that she knows what a bank is and what we do in the bank. It’s my small way of instilling in her the valuable virtue of thriftiness and saving money. Here’s how I made the birdhouse: Materials Needed: Cardboard Box/Milk Box/ Carton Glue or masking tape Scissors Gift Wrapper Procedure: Cut the carton into the following sizes: Front and Back - 2 pcs.3 ¾” x 3” Sides - 2 pcs. 2 ½” x 3” Base - 1 pc. 4” x 4” Cover - 1 pc. 4 ½” x 4 ½” Paste together the front and side, side and back to make a square. Place it over the 4” x 4” and glue it. Before putting the cover or roof, put a 1” hole in the middle. Cover it with a gift wrapper. 6. This is the finished birdhouse