Building Things
Building a Fort ...or Something Else
My toddlers love to hide behind and under things. I often find them under the table playing hide-and-seek, so we started putting a sheet over it to make a fort. Now we play a game called 'Build me a fort or something else' where they have to say what type of building they are making and what they would find inside. So, instead of just a fort, ...(read more)
Milk Carton Blocks
Don't throw away your empty milk cartons... start washing them out and creating a collection. When you fold down the top of the milk carton, they can become excellent building blocks -- large enough to build a fort. Once you get a good number of them collected, allow your child to decorate the milk cartons with paper, paint, or glitter to your child's suiting. This is an excellent ...(read more)
Playing House
Make a play house out of big appliance boxes. You can ask Sears or Home Depot for boxes, maybe even Costco or Sam's Club. Into the sides of the box, cut doors and windows with a utility knife. You and your child can then paint the house. You might use packing tape to reinforce the box seams before you paint. If you get many boxes, ...(read more)
Marshmallow Architecture
Take a box of tooth picks and a bag of mini marshmallows and put them out on a table. Then show the kids how to create three-dimensional structures by placing the marshmallows onto the tooth picks. They have a great time creating big structures, houses, tunnels, etc. Some nibbling involved!(read more)
Big Blocks
These blocks are easy to make and great for one year olds who aren't quite able to skillfully maneuver heavy wooden blocks yet, and older kids will enjoy them, too. You can make 2 types: 1) To make large blocks, fill a paper grocery bag full with crumpled newspaper. Fold and tape the sides of the open end as if you were wrapping a present. Help ...(read more)
Cardboard Box Creations
Use a large cardboard box, big enough that your kid can crawl into it (stove or refrigerator boxes work great) and create your own playhouse, fort, car, truck, whatever he or she would like! Just cut windows and doors and decorate the outside of the box with markers or crayons. (read more)
Homemade Marble Run
The cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls can be used to make great marble runs. Decorate the tubes with paint, stickers, markers, or crayons. Use masking tape to attached them in any direction you like, forming a multi-level structure of any height. The tubes can also be cut in half lengthwise to create open chutes for the marbles. At the bottom of ...(read more)
Building Block Boxes
Wrap empty boxes of varying sizes with brown paper bags. You can use shoe boxes, cereal boxes, Mac and Cheese boxes, etc. After they are wrapped, the kids can decorate them with crayons & stickers and then stack them as high as themselves. These are great for toddlers because they are big, but light weight. (read more)
Sugar Cube Shapes
Build a castle, a house, or a boat using sugar cubes! Just let your child's imagination run wild with this activity. Glue (or use frosting) to adhere the sugar cubes onto heavy cardboard in any shape/layout/design of your choice. You can make 3 dimensional letters and shapes! It may be easiest to draw the outline of the shape you are going to make directly ...(read more)
Toilet Paper Towers
Every time I purchase toilet paper, my sons love to open the package and build towers with the rolls. They try to build one as tall as themselves. They try to build two that are equal. It's a fun way to introduce math concepts like equal, same, more, and less. We also count the rolls in each tower. Of course they also love knocking them ...(read more)
Sand Paper Playtime
Give your child a piece of sandpaper and some small wood scraps. Show her how to sand the wood, and talk about the difference between rough and well-sanded wood textures. For a more advanced activity, sanded scraps of wood can be glued together to create wood sculptures and painted or decorated with markers. To avoid splinters, you may want your child to wear gloves for this activity.(read more)
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Before we had kids, we might have said that the best sound in the world was waves crashing. Or a champagne cork popping. Nothing against the ocean or a bottle of bubbly, but now we know for sure: the best sound
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