The Box

• Find a large enough cardboard box so that your child can stand in it and the edges are at least higher then her waist. Use a box cutter to carefully cut doors in both sides of the cardboard. Do this simply by cutting a capital "L" from the middle toward the front of the box and then bending the cardboard in and out a few times so that a natural hinge is created by the cardboard. The top and bottom flaps of the box should be removed entirely, so that there are only the four sides of the cardboard box car. Some small sections of those top flaps can be left attached as options to the box car, like cardboard side mirrors or a cardboard spoiler.
  
  

Painting the Box

• Outside or on a drop cloth, paint the cardboard box an appropriate color for a car. A flat latex paint will adhere the best to the cardboard. A main coat should be applied to all parts of the box and allowed to dry. Spray paint may be the most efficient way to do this, but won't necessarily allow the paint to be applied evenly. After the paint has dried, more detailed paint jobs can be applied, like lightning bolts, stripes or some sweet flames.
  
  

Wheels and options

• Add paper plates on each lower corner and color or paint them to look like wheels. You can glue beads to the top back and front corners to correspond to headlights and taillights. Glue Popsicle sticks to the front to make a grill, or add spare buttons to make the box car more "high-tech," with laser beams and push-button ignition. Not only are you thinking outside the box here with the help of your child, you're creatively building onto it together.