bdHarman Productions > creative diversion articles

Diversion 2:
Barbie…Who would have thought?
out-of-the-box with a box
by Brett Harman

You may already question how this has anything to do with the price of tea in China. Well, for starters, let me explain the situation…

My friend’s daughter (my goddaughter) had just begun a new school year. This was no ordinary school year - this was the year kindergarten started. And wouldn’t you know, this was also the year kids are introduced to the concept of homework and out-of-class projects. Trust me, it wasn’t a week before she came home with her first assigned out-of-class project. Her father said to me;“We really need your help with this one”.

Come to find out, the assignment was for the parents. Apparently her school held an annual box-car parade intended to entertain and involve the parents. I read over the instructions she brought home and they basically instructed us to take a cardboard box, glue on 4 paper plates and cut a hole for the child. I thought to myself…that’s no car, it’s a cardboard box with paper plates.

At first I was a little unsure how I should contribute to the assignment, but after the question was asked;“Can you make me a Barbie Corvette”, I then knew my role. A square box with paper plates would never look like a Corvette. The gears in my head began to turn and I realized how important this box-car parade really was. This would be her first time in front of a real audience and I wanted to make certain she was proud of her car.

Overall, small projects like these can do a lot. You contribute to a good cause, obtain a piece of mind, and above all, have a chance to do something different.