DIY toy ideas for kids to make from simple materials like paper, recyclables and glue
Recently the girls and I decided to make some tiaras out of foil. My kids love to create paper crowns and often make them on their own without any help from me. This version with the sparkly foil was even more appealing to them but they did need help with the pipe cleaner twisting and foil wrapping. The…
Miss K, at age 5, is still very fond of her toy kitchen. She has lots of pretend food to cook, such as rock cakes, toilet roll fish and even the glitter sponge cakes we made a long time ago are still going strong. Sometimes she doesn’t even need food that looks real, ordinary round seed pods become chocolate…
Recently we created some sparkly wax gems as a science activity inspired by the popular lava lamp experiment. We have not actually made a ‘lava lamp’ but there is a great version of it here at Racheous Lovable Learning. This is a different activity inspired by that same experiment, and is very quick, easy and interesting for…
Make some cinnamon cookie playdough that smells amazing! This is a fun sensory activity and pretend-play idea for preschoolers. You might also like our Christmas pudding play dough Not that long ago the girls and I were making jam tarts – real ones, that is. They adore baking but the only problem was that they…
If you have a little one at home who enjoys pretend tea parties, perhaps they would like a few rock cakes to add to their game. These are pretty VERY easy to make, and as obvious as it looks, I’m about to tell you how I made them for 5 year old Miss K, who…
Create a Noah’s ark for imaginary play with this easy cardboard box craft. Preschoolers will love saving their own stuffed animals from the flood! Our “ark” has a gang plank to board the ship, portholes so the smaller animals can peek out and a sail to catch the wind. Let me start off by saying…
This week we pulled out some white rocks that were stashed away in the back of the craft cupboard for no particular purpose. Sometimes I buy things, feeling sure that I will “make something one day”, but once they are put away they are completely forgotten about. Until the kids pull them out, of course, and…
Miss K has a favourite game she likes to play with her baby doll who goes by the name of “baby Amelia”. She loves to pretend one of my old, broken tripods is a camera, and baby Amelia is the photographer. While I stand there taking photos of various craft masterpieces we have made to put…
My kids are growing up and becoming more and more independent. Miss R is already at big school five days a week and that leaves me and Miss K at home together on the days she’s not at pre-school. It’s lovely to spend some mother-daughter time with her because as the little sister she’s always…