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Niche Topics (Pregnancy and Kids) is all about practical parenting advice and parenting
skills to help you deal with common parenting challenges from toddlerhood to teen
years. You’ll find tons of healthy food ideas and easy-
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4 Super Fun Kids Toys You Can Make
By Holly Campbell
If you've a few plastic jar lids or old margarine tubs in the pantry, don't toss them away yet. These are really useful materials that can be recycled into fun homemade kids learning toys.
How to Make Toys for Kids out of Household Items
Educational Lids
Save all your plastic jar lids from mayonnaise, peanut butter, coffee cans and use them to teach young kids identify colors, count numbers and identify alphabets.
It's a good idea to get hold of plastic lids in different colors and sizes, and the more the better. If you don't have that many, ask your friends and neighbors for contributions. You need at least 26 lids for teaching alphabets A to Z and 10 lids for numbers 0 to 9.
Wash and dry lids well. Then with waterproof marker pen, write the numbers and alphabets
on the lids, preferably BIG. If you like, you can get stick-
Use these lids as flashcards to teach children numbers, letters, colors and more.
These plastic lids can also double up as play food. My daughter loves to mimic my
actions whenever I make sandwiches for tea. She plays with the lids by putting a
larger one between two slightly smaller ones.
Ring Toss
Keep your children occupied with this super fun game while you do your stuff.
Collect plastic lid rings that are large enough to go through soda bottles or tube cans, 10 is good enough.
Remove labels from soda bottles; wash and dry. Clean and dry lids as well.
Next, cut out a circle bigger than the base of soda bottles, to get a ring. Repeat with the remaining lids.
Unscrew bottle cap and fill it with sand, rice or even water (you don't need to fill all the way up, just enough so that bottle won't topple). Screw tight and secure with masking tape for added protection.
You can jazz up the bottles with cute animal pictures, cut out from old magazines.
Viola, the ring toss game is ready for play. Watch your kid beam with pride when he toss rings over bottles!
Squirt Bottle Toy
Bathroom toys for kids don't come cheap and they don't last very long. Why not save plastic squirt syrup or ketchup bottles, meat trays, margarine tubs or yogurt cups and recycle them into fun homemade children toys?
Thoroughly clean any squeezable bottle, and fill with water to make a squirting toy. It’s really great for keeping your toddler occupied when you wash his hair.
Mini Boats
These little "boats" floats very well, and sail very smoothly. Put a few toy people onboard for an exciting cruise and watch your kid squeal with delight!
You'll need margarine tubs, colored paper, hole puncher, straw and blue tack or plasticine.
Wash margarine tub well. Cut out triangular sail shapes from colored paper, and punch a hole at the top and bottom of the sail so that you can push a straw through to make a mast.
Next, fix this onto the base of the tub with a small lump of plasticine.
Making homemade kids toys is really easy and don't take up much of your time. What's more, they don't cost a thing, and great for recycling. What can be more pleasurable than watching your kids having fun with your own creations?
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