Homemade Toy: Playing Mailman

I made a simple mailman activity for my niece to include in her 1 Year old Busy Box (check out #3 on the link).   At her level, it basically included the foam envelopes and a small metal mailbox.  She could open and close the mailbox, lift up the flag, and play the “In and Out” game that ALL 1 year olds seem to love!  I kept wanting to make something similar for J.

 I got the first mailbox at Michael’s Craft Store but haven’t been able to find them since so I decided to make one with a shoebox…  until I came across this mailbox in the Valentine’s clearance section at Target. 

It’s made of cardboard and opens and closes like normal on the side.  It also has a small slit at the top (originally to place valentine’s card inside).  Regular size foam fits perfectly in the slit on top.  I cut the foam envelopes according the the length of the slit and then labeled each with both a mailing and a return “address” and drew a stamp in the upper right. If you wanted, you could use real stickers and have your toddler place the stamp on each envelope. 

I’ve had this activity made for ever, but just brought it out this week.  I’m glad I waited.  Since the foam envelopes barely fit in the mailbox slit, it makes it an appropriately challenging activity for J’s current level.  He has to be very careful to get the foam inside the slit and then he has to work slowly to push the foam envelope down.  Since foam bends if he pushes too hard or moves to fast the long envelopes will just bend over the top of the mailbox instead of falling inside.  It was a GREAT fine motor skill activity for him. 

Lots of concentration going on!!

He got really frustrated at first.  Dad stepped in and showed him how to hold the envelope on the sides with both hands and SLOWLY push it into the mailbox.  From then on he loved it.  He stuck with it for awhile.  The fact that he had to focus so much and was, in the end, able to complete the task tells me he’s at the right developmental level for this.  I’m actually glad the slit was so small.  If I had made one myslef, I wouldn’t have made the slit that small which would’ve made it to easy for him. 

It can also act as a name recognition game… he can “deliver” the envelopes to the correct person (in this case, Mommy, Daddy, and J) or he can just stack them according to name.  When he’s older, I could add more recipients and J could sort them next to the recipients picture.   

He can of course also sort them by color, count the numbe of envelopes each person recieved (or according to color).

Age attempted: 25 months; a younger toddler can insert the mail through a larger slit or through the door on the mailbox.

Here’s the picture of my niece’s Mailman game

Letter of the Day Activities (I day!)

We focused on “I for Ice” today and included some science in our lessons!

Ice Painting: This was how I introduced the letter I to him.  It was a hit. I gave J a piece of paper with both the upper and lower case letter I and we talked about the letter, it’s sound, and then let the LeapFrog fridge phonics toy repeat the letter and sound. We also filled in the block letters with stickers.

 Since “ice” was our I-word for the day, I gave him some homemade popsicles (made from Kool-aid) and showed him how he could paint with them.  I got this idea from the Toddler Busy Book.  Surprisingly, he was so interested in painting that he did not consider eating the popsicles until the very end.  (During this activity, he pointed out that the paper was wet, so I started our science lesson by telling him as the ice gets warm it melts and becomes water)   **You could also use plain ice and construction paper to paint similar to this.

Ice Melting Bags:  This was our science activity that went well with I for Ice day.  I had already made several different colored ice cubes the night before using food coloring.  I had J separate the different colors into sandwich bags and we taped them to the dishwasher so they would be at his eye level.  We described the ice together (cold, hard, heart-shaped in our case).  I opened the freezer door and had him feel inside.  He noticed that it was cold in the freezer.  I told him that ice needed to be kept cold or it would melt, so we kept it in the freezer.  I asked him if he remembered what happens to ice when it gets warm and he did!!  He replied “water!”  By this point our ice bags had already begun to melt, so I had him look for water in the bags.   He was excited to find some in a couple of the bags!  Throughout the afternoon, we kept an eye on our ice bags.  I pointed out that the ice was getting smaller and the water in the bag was increasing.  We talked about the different properties of ice and water.  By dinnertime, he was excited to show daddy his bags (of now colored water) and to tell him that the ice had become water because they got warm.  I got the general idea from  
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/toddler-theme.htm
. 

You could easily turn this into a color mixing activity or get more specific by placing more ice in one bag and noticing how it melts slower this way, discuss why,… 

Ice Blocks - This was a simple activity with really no prep and no clean up.  I gave J a bowl of ice cubes and he built with them…. kind of.  At first we made letters and shapes with them (of course we made the letter I) but as they melted a bit, we could start stacking them to create walls/towers. 

Other things we did:

• I pulled out all of J’s letter books and had him search for the letter I page.  He then wanted to show his stuffed Pooh all of the letter I’s.
• I had printed an extra Letter I page (they were big block letters) and I had him fill in the letters with blocks, pompoms, stickers, and paperclips.\
• It’s raining AGAIN, so I used painter’s tape to write both the upper and lower case letter I on our kitchen floor.  (I reused last weeks triangle tape because painter’s tape can get expensive!!)  Our letter I will stay up all week.
• He got a popsicle as a special snack (probably his favorite “activity” of the day.  He was VERY engaged while eating his popsicle!

Age attempted: 23 months

Homemade Toy: Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle

This activity is a huge winner.   I once read about giving toddlers spaghetti pasta to fit inside empty spice containers in the “Toddler Busy Book”.  I tried this first (with an empty water bottle since he was too young to fit the spaghetti in the tiny spice holes) but the spaghetti kept breaking and then I was worried he’d try to eat the pieces.  It just didn’t work with J so young.  So I changed the activity and gave him pipe cleaners with the empty bottle instead.  I twisted the pipe cleaners in half so they were more sturdy and bent the ends around so they were safe.  J loved loved loved this.  It is definitely in the top 10 toys he owns.  I now include it when making a  Busy Box for 1 year olds.

It’s a great activity to help little ones practice motor skills.  The length of the pipe cleaners makes it more difficult to fit inside the bottle than a puff ball or anything small enough to fit into their hands.  J often tried to hold the bottle in one hand and the pipe cleaner in his other hand so it required steady hands (something he did not have at first!)  As he’s gotten older and in better control of his muscles I’ve decreased the size of the mouth on the bottle.  He now uses an empty parmesan container with the holes in the lid or a plastic lid that I punched holes into.  I’ve also seen an activity online that colored around each hole to encourage their toddler to match the colors during the activity (though I can’t remember where!).  I liked that idea, but haven’t used it yet.  It would definitely increase the difficulty. 

It’s funny how we don’t realize all the skills we had to master in order to do things like pouring, sorting, threading, etc. It’s fun watching J learn these things.  This is one of J’s favorite activities between ages 11 months and maybe 18 months.  

      

It’s a perfect plane activity since it keeps him occupied for so long and is so light to carry while traveling.  In fact, he just enjoyed this toy on our plane ride this morning at 22 months.  Again it’s light, keeps them busy for an extended time and the pipe cleaners can be used for other things (make jewelry, letters, shapes, chains, threading,…).

Age attempted: I can’t remember exactly when I first introduced this; I know my neice is able to do it at 12 months right now.

Teachable Moments:  In and Out, show them how to hold the bottle still while moving the pipe cleaner, fine motor skills, color matching,

Try Again?  He is still intrigued at 23 months!  I made the activity more difficult as he got older.

 

Here’s the cuter version I made for my neice.  I just punched holes into the top of an Empty Puffs container.

Homemade Game: Matching Blocks

J is really into matching his toys.  He is constantly finding ways to organize trains, tracks, blocks, beads,…  We have these Melissa and Doug wooden lacing beads and I noticed J was constantly turning the wooden tray over so that he could match the colorful beads to the pictures on the tray.  Unfortunately there were only a few pictures to match.  So I decided to create a matching board that included all the beads.  This was something I did quickly while J was playing nearby, so the final product certainly has mistakes! I just traced each bead and then added color to match each one.  You could probably create a board like this using powerpoint that looks much more professional.  J didn’t notice the mistakes at all.  He loved the board and went straight to work. 

Age attempted: 22 months

Teachable Moments:  label the shapes and colors, recognize color patterns, number recognition

Try Again? Yes, I pull this matching board out maybe once a week

You obviously could create a matching board for lots of different toys your little one already owns.  Letter blocks, stacking toys, flashcards, cars, trains, letter/number magnets, …  I’m sure you can come up with lots of ideas.  Please share your ideas!!

One Fish Two Fish matching

This is one of the matching activities I made for J.  He loves fish right now, so this particular board quickly attracts his attention. 

These pictures were left over from an activity J did at church, but you could make your own with clip art.  I used adhesive magnets on the back of the board as well as on each individual card so that the pieces stay in place.  I also laminated (using contact paper) each card for durability. 

I did originally make another board that had double the squares to match but it proved too difficult for him.  He lost interest very quickly because there were simply too many fish to search through.  It wasn’t magnetic either so he kept accidentally moving the cards around the board.  This second board worked out much better.  I really think it’s the perfect level for him right now.  He has to be mindful of the color, number and type of fish to match each card correctly.  There are just enough squares to keep him busy but not frustrate him.  I will have to save my original board for when he’s a bit older. 

Age attempted: 22 months

Teachable moments: count the fish together in search for the perfect match, talk about the different colors, point out the size of the fish (small, medium, large)

Try Again?  Yes; as he gets older I can increase the number of squares to match; I can also add extra cards that won’t actually match the board so that he will learn to filter the unnecessary data and focus only on what is needed to complete the task.

** stay tuned for other activities I’ve created with these adorable fish!

This is the other board I made that will have to wait until he's a little older.

1 Year Old’s Busy Box

I thought I would share a recent gift I prepared for my one year old niece.  I called it her “Busy Box” and included some homemade activities that she can enjoy both now and over the next few months.  She is the third child so her house is already overflowing with store-bought toys and they really need little more.  So I thought a little creativity was in order.  Afterall, toddlers LOVE to play with anything that isn’t technically a toy anyway!  Many of these activities were J’s favorites at the same age (the ones with stars) and I threw in a few extra… 

The box itself was a simple photo box.  I wanted it to be small enough to hide away (some activities will need adult supervision) and cute enough to be displayed if wanted.  This also meant activities needed to fit inside the box itself.  I finally decided on…

1. Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle **

All toddlers love a good game of In and Out.  This is just one more way to get some practice!  I used an old container of Puffs from J’s baby days, decorated the outside and punched holes in the lid.  I filled the bottle with colorful pipe cleaners.  It’s also a good idea to fold and twist the pipe cleaners in half to make them sturdier.  As a pretoddler it will be easiest to simply remove the lid completely and let her take the pipe cleaners in and out but as she gets older, simply add the lid and the activity becomes more advanced.  If I could’ve found my colorful Sharpies/reinforcement stickers, I would’ve given each hole a specific color.  This allows one more difficulty by trying to match the colored pipe cleaners to the corresponding colored hole in the lid. 

Another option is to use colorful straws, but I chose pipe cleaners since they’re so versatile.  She could also use them to make shapes, letters, jewelry,…  Oh and this makes a GREAT plane activity. 

2.  Colorful Flowers

Again and In and Out game, or just a way to focus on colors.  I used colorful foam to make the flowers and added a tin flower pot.

3.  You’ve Got Mail

I cut out envelopes, stamped and addressed each one with recognizable family names.  I intended to create my old mailbox with a box, but decided to go with this cute store-bought mailbox instead.  She can learn to open and close the mailbox, of course play the In and Out game with the mail (do you see a trend?), and when she gets old enough for name recognition she can play mailman and pass out the mail to the intended recipient. 

4.  Clothespin Drop

I bought some of the old clothespins (without the spring) and gave each one a different colored tip.  She can play the In and Out game (yes, again!), try to drop the clothespins in the tin flower pot and hear the nice clangy sound they make, and when she’s much older can fit the clothespins around the tin edge since they fit perfectly.

5.  Half-Dozen Eggs **

I mentioned this activity in an earlier post.  It was such a winner when J was younger, that it had to win a spot in E’s Busy Box.  It takes literally no work, just an egg carton and some plastic eggs.  ** I also meant to add puff balls inside each egg, but of course forgot. 

6.  Cupcake Magnetic Puzzle

This was made completely out of the colorful foam.  The muffin tins and cherries are glued down but the cupcakes themselves can be removed, rearranged and replaced (because of the magnetic backing).  Since she is so young, cupcakes work great.  Any color cupcake will fit on any muffin tin.  

This is an activity where a parent needs to be nearby since it includes magnets.

7.  Photo cards **

I printed and laminated family photos.  This is a great way for her to learn each family member (they’ve recently moved away from home) and I’ve never known a toddler that didn’t enjoy playing with pictures! 

7.  Colorful Dice

I threw this in last minute since J has a set and enjoys them.  I found these at Michaels.  For now, it’s just something to toss around (they are rubber so they bounce), but eventually it’s a way to practice counting. 

Color Cards

I cut out different color cards, wrote the color on each card and then covered them with clear contact paper for durability.  I made two of each color.  

So far, I have used thesecards for two different activities.

Matching cards:  I started with three matching pairs, mixed them up and layed them out in front of J.  I called out a color and he stacked the matching set.

  Color Hunt:  I layed out all the color cards and a stack of color blocks.  He matched the blocks with the correct color card. 

Age?  21 months (but they can be used much earlier)

Try Again?  Yes (too increase the difficulty, I can increase the number of colors available at once; I can ask him to search the entire house to find items that match the color cards)

Snow Paintings

A friend of mine recommended using spray bottles and food coloring to create a masterpiece in the snow.  Of course I had no food coloring and I couldn’t find my spray bottle… so I improvised with Kool-aid and medicine droppers.   J and I went outside to create some homemade snowcones.  Eventually mom’s fingers were freezing …. J was having so much fun that he was oblivious to his blue fingers (and no, I didn’t have blue Kool-aid).  I made an executive decision to move this activity inside. 

I filled a couple trays with snow, threw some paintbrushes in with the medicine droppers and let J create.  Forty minutes later, he was still having a blast (though the activity had morphed into stabbing colored ice with the dropper, creating a new favorite of his, holes!).   To keep the activity going this long, I added a blank slate of fresh snow every 10 minutes or so. 

I also had him in the blow up pool to keep J contained with this activity.  Much safer on the carpets/furniture this way!  It also really helped to keep him focused.

Snow painting

Age attempted?  21 months (this activity could definitely be done younger and I’m thinking would be enjoyable when he’s older too)

Try Again?  Definitely yes; he loved it

**It’s snowing again and he’s already asking to paint the snow!

Sorting

I gave J a bowl of colored stones (for his two different colors, but as he gets older I can add more colors) and an empty ice cube tray.  The first step was to fill each section with one stone (I wasn’t concerned with colors at this point). It’s basically a simple pattern, each spot needs one stone.  Then he emptied the tray and I had him fill one side with red stones and the other side with blue stones.

I’ve done the same thing with the colored pom pom balls.  Really you could use anything small enough to fit.  Somtimes changing the sorting item is enough to make get J interested again, especially if it’s not really a toy!  Oooh, I get to play with rocks now!  Oooh  paperclips!!! Ooooh  erasers!!!

19 months

Age?  First done (with pompom balls) around 16 months; color sorting at 19 months

Try Again?  Yes, as long as the difficulty increases with age.  As he gets older and better at counting I can specify the number of stones in each section or have him add one more stone in each subsequent section (so he has one stone in box one, two stones in box two, …).  I can also incorporate motor skills by having him use a spoon or tongs to transfer the stones.

Color Matching Relay

 Using the foam sheets you buy at craft stores (for durability), I cut out circles in two different colors (blue and red).  Our shape of the week was the circle this week, so I am reinforcing the circle in all activities possible.I mixed the circles together and placed them at one end of the room.  At the other end of the room I placed a piece of blue foam and a piece of red foam next to each other.  I told J that he had to pick just one circle, run to the other side of the room as fast as possible and match it to the correct color foam.  He repeated this until he had no more circles left.  He loved it.  Of course I was cheering him on the whole time. 

The activity was too easy for him.  Honestly this was the first time I tested him with color matching  so I made the activity simple, not wanting him frustrated.  I underestimated J and could’ve added another color easily, probably more.  Keeping him engaged is a constant learning process… since he is always learning! 

Age attempted: 20 months. 

Try Again?  Yes, but increase the difficulty by matching more colors or matching colors and shapes.