Isn’t it amazing that kids often love to play with what’s simply laying around the house versus a fancy toy? I often find that babies and toddlers prefer to play with a cardboard box or kitchen towel roll instead of the flashing, music-making, popping-up toy. 🙂
I love homemade toys for two reasons:
1) Recycle, Reuse, Renew! It’s great for the environment. Save those kitchen towel rolls, cardboard boxes, and empty water bottles to make fun toys or do interesting crafts.
2) For children with sensory and motor impairments, it’s oftentimes easier to make a toy that is just right for their motor abilities and coordination. For example, if a child who has limited fine motor skills, you can use larger objects such as making a giant pegboard with water bottles. To add a sensory component, make a textured board with different sponges, fabrics and materials. Using objects found at home, you can make a toy that’s just the right size, shape, or texture to suit a child’s motor, sensory and cognitive skills.
A couple of my favourite resources for homemade toy ideas are:
Personal favourites are the ball board, curler board and eggs in a can.
2) The Recycling Occupational Therapist – Check out her Facebook page or YouTube videos for ideas for homemade toys.
Go buy some stick-back Velcro, magnetic tape, and start saving those cardboard boxes and empty plastic bottles. Have fun!