10 ways to make a blanket or towel into a toy [home made toys]

Posted on September 5, 2009, 4:10 pm, by Lauren and received No Comments ».
Photo by theogeo

Photo by theogeo

Sometimes you just don’t have toys on hand. Here are some games you can play with just a blanket, towel, napkin, cloth diaper, or whatever you have lying around.

For bigger kids:

  1. Make a magic carpet. Have the child sit or lie on the blanket and drag him around the room. Older kids can try dragging each other around.
  2. Make a burrito. Roll up the child in the blanket (or show her how to roll herself up), and then pull on the loose end (slowly!) and unroll her onto the floor. You can do this with toys, too.
  3. Make a fort or tunnel with some pillows or sofa cushions.
  4. Make a super hero cape, or take turns playing “ghost.”
  5. Play a guessing game. Wrap an item up in the cloth, and have the child try to guess what it is just by feeling it. Take turns.
  6. Tug o’ war.

For babies:

  1. Make a “parachute.” You know how they have colorful parachutes at places like Gymboree or Wee Play? You can recreate some of the fun at home too. Have the child sit or lie on the floor, put the blanket over him, and have 2 people lift the blanket very quickly on the count of 3. Babies love the rush of air and peek-a-boo quality of this “game.”
  2. You can’t go wrong with Peekaboo. Once your baby can sit up, try putting the towel on her head and letting her pull it off herself.
  3. Play “hide and seek” with everyday items. Take some item (preferably one that makes noise like a set of keys), and cover it with the cloth. Then wiggle the item or tap it on the table to make some noise and let the baby “find” the item. You can make this game more interesting by “hiding” the item under one of several cloths so the baby has to listen for the jingle of the keys.
  4. Play “catch.”  Shake the cloth and swing it around in the air (if it’s small) to get the baby’s attention. Then, let one end fall close to him and when he starts to reach for it, move it back slightly. Have him chase the cloth like this a few more times, then let him catch it and wave it around himself.

10 baby toy alternatives [use what you have]

Posted on August 21, 2009, 9:41 pm, by Lauren and received No Comments ».
Photo by tandemracer

Photo by tandemracer

It doesn’t matter how many toys you have, babies just get tired of playing with the same ones after a while. Instead of going out to spend even more money on toys that will lose their appeal after 15 minutes, why not try using some potential toys you already have?

  1. The laundry basket. On Unclutterer.com, Matt suggests dumping the clothes so that the baby can climb inside, and if you’re feeling energetic you can push/pull the baby around, race car style.
  2. I’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s a good one: the empty box. I like using big cardboard boxes for pretend play, but smaller ones are good for babies. At around one year they become fascinated by putting things in and taking things out, so an empty shoe box and some blocks can really keep them interested.
  3. An oldie but goodie: pots and pans. Leave the door open on the cabinet and let them think that they are really getting into something verboten!
  4. Towels and washcloths. This may not fascinate every child, but lots of young children love to cover things up, or wrap and unwrap things. And babies who are just learning to walk love to shake small cloths in their hands as they wander around (my son just looooves taking underpants out of the dryer so he can shake them around – maybe they are light enough that they don’t knock him off balance??)
  5. Flashlights. This works for cats too. Shine the light on the ground, let the baby investigate, and then turn it off just as she reaches out to touch it. Then turn it back on in another location. Let her “catch” it every once in a while so she doesn’t get frustrated though!
  6. Empty squeeze bottles. We have a mayonnaise bottle that is very soft, so we washed it and tossed it in the toy box to see what would happen. The older child filled it with ribbons, and the baby chewed on it and waved it around for at least 30 minutes (an eternity in baby time). It is still very popular for reasons that are beyond me.
  7. Air pump. Do you have one of those plastic pumps to fill up inflatable pools or beach balls? Just leave it out one day and see what happens. Just make sure any babies who are still in the “nomming” stage don’t ruin the hose.
  8. Belts. If you have a belt without any sharp edges, see if your baby is interested in it. Some babies just LOVE to gum on the band, and it usually makes a jingly sound if you shake it. Older kids may love practicing fastening and unfastening it ad infinitum. My daughter was like that, so it was a perfect thing for her to do when I was on the phone.
  9. Plastic bottle full of ice. The ice makes a great sound against the plastic, and as it melts the sound changes, so it stays interesting for a long time. Plus, the cold temperature makes it especially interesting.
  10. Tubes. I personally like the ones that come inside the aluminum foil or plastic wrap because they are thicker, but paper towel ones will work also. Babies wave them around and bang them against each other (and nom them), older kids use them as wands, ramps for cars, swords, or a million other things.

What have you used when the usual toys were not cutting it?

DIY wipe-off coloring sheets [toys for travel]

Posted on August 18, 2009, 10:10 pm, by Lauren and received No Comments ».

visavis

I saw this tip on Lifehacker.com, and I thought it was a genius idea for anyone with kids: DIY erasable coloring sheets.

All you do is take a sheet of paper, laminate it, and let the kids draw/color on it with wet erase markers (like the vis-a-vis ones). Dry erase will work too, but the dust is messy and gets into clothes. Wet erase is what teachers use on overhead projectors, and the ink dries right away, so there is no smearing, and no mess! To clean up, just wipe with a wet cloth (or wipe) and you’re ready to start over.

You could have a few blank sheets, some dot-to-dots, some color-by-number, and whatever else your child likes, and you’d be set for car trips for the next few months.

The person on Lifehacker used his idea for taking notes at meetings, but I thought it was brilliant for families with multiple children or day care centers. You can buy one coloring book, laminate the pages, and the kids can color indefinitely!

Homemade pom-poms [worth the trouble]

Posted on August 3, 2009, 12:04 pm, by Lauren and received No Comments ».
Photo by Noah Sussman

Photo by Noah Sussman

As I mentioned in my post on a homemade “cannon,” pom-poms are way more fun than you would think. But, most of us don’t have a pile of them lying around, and the ones I’ve seen at craft/sewing supply stores are just not as good as the bigger, fluffier variety. So here’s how you can make your own pom-poms to your own specifications:

I loved the tutorial at Bella Dia, where she shows you how to make them using just your fingers. Just get some yarn (you may have some lying around, or you can get some really cheap at craft/sewing stores, Target, or some other big store) and start wrapping it around your fingers. Use 2 fingers for a 1″ ball, or 3 or 4 fingers for bigger ones. Wrap a LOT of yarn around your fingers, and then take a length of yarn and tie the yarn around your fingers in the middle. (Check out the tutorial for more details and photos.) Then just cut the loops and give it a haircut, and voila!

If your child is the crafty type, this in itself may be a fun rainy day activity. He may really enjoy picking out his own colors, or mixing colors, and then he can spend some quality time quietly shooting them out of a cannon.

Pom-pom cannon [surprisingly popular toys]

Posted on August 1, 2009, 10:29 pm, by Lauren and received 1 Comment ».
Photo by Rhian vK

Photo by Rhian vK

In my quest for fun things to do in play groups, I tried out using little pom-poms that I had lying around. I was not at all confident that the kids would be into them, but this turned out to be the most popular activity of the whole year:

Gather up a whole load of pom-poms (in different colors if you have them), and stuff them into a tube. I didn’t have a tube at first, so I just used a rolled up magazine and that worked just fine. Then, have the kids count down with “3-2-1 go!” and blow into the end of the tube. If you do it right, pom-poms will go flying through the air and rain down on the kids.

The squeals of joy will make it worth the time to make the pom-poms.

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