Lap Desk

What You’ll Need:

• large cardboard box
• scissors
• glue
• cardboard
• pencil
• ruler
• paints
• construction paper
• stickers

How to Make It:

1. Get a box big enough to fit over your lap, at least 8 inches high, 10 inches wide, and 15 inches long.

2. Cut the flaps from the box top. Set them aside.

3. Turn the box upside down. The box bottom will be the top of the desk. (If the box has an opening in the bottom, cover it by gluing a piece of cardboard over the entire box bottom, on the outside.)

4. On one of the long sides of the box, draw a large U shape. It should be no closer to the corners or to the top of the desk than 2 inches, but large enough to fit over your legs when you’re sitting on the floor. Cut out the U shape.

5. Use the cutout piece to trace a U the same size on the opposite side of the box. Cut it out.

6. Glue the box top flaps around the sides of the box so they stick up about 1 inch above the desk top, making a rim around the desk top to keep pencils and crayons from rolling off.

7. Paint the desk or cover it with paper. Decorate it with paint, stickers, or paper cutouts. Use the lap desk in the car or at home.