Play Library » Toy Creations

Paint Your Own Soccer Ball – A Great Party Idea

Susan Gunelius — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:30:23 +0000

Whenever I’m on a website looking for a product for my kids, I always try to take a few minutes to check out the clearance page. You never know what you might find. Today, I found one of those unique items that I don’t need right now but would be great when my kids are older. I have to share!

Check out the Paint Your Own Soccer Ball from Crayola. I love this idea. It sounds like a fun activity to do with your son or daughter. Alternatively, I love the idea of buying a bunch of these for a young soccer player’s birthday party. I can see all the kids sitting around a table decorating their soccer balls that they get to take home with them at the end of the party.

If you like the party idea, then now is the time to stock up on Paint Your Own Soccer Balls because they’re currently on sale through a buy 1 get 1 50% off promotion on the Toys R Us website. Each Paint Your Own Soccer Ball kit includes a ball, a pump, a paint brush and two 6-count paint pot strips.

Have your children used a Paint Your Own Soccer Ball? Did it work as well as it looks like it does in the picture?

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Sock Puppets

Kerri Aldrich — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 04:23:45 +0000

After looking at different lists and posts last week about daytime activities, I thought it would be fun to try sock puppets with the kids. We have all kinds of scraps and bits and pieces to use in a throw-together craft project. And besides, I had a pair of socks that were really uncomfortable to wear!

Here are the supplies we had:

socks

scraps of yarn

fabric markers

scissors

google eyes

glue

ribbon

little colored pompons

We started by cutting two slits into the tops of the socks. The hair was then made by putting through pieces of yarn and tying them in knots at the top. I figured the hair would stay better this way than it would if we glued it, but we also wouldn’t have to get out the needle and thread.

The kids got to draw on their own mouths with the markers. The older kids used googly eyes (though we only had three big ones left, so my daughter’s is “Sally the first ever nice Cyclops”). They then used the pompons for noses and tails. The youngest just got help drawing on the eyes and nose for his puppet.

We tried gluing on the eyes and pompons for the others, but we’re having a bit of trouble keeping them attached. I think we may have to try a bit of super glue (with some kind of barrier placed in the sock so that we don’t end up gluing the sock closed!). If that doesn’t work, we may have to fall back on the old needle and thread!

What are your sock puppet tips and ideas?

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Next year, I’ll get him Lego for Father’s Day…

Kerri Aldrich — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 04:43:12 +0000

Next year, i think I’ll just get Bald Man a new Lego set for Father’s Day. I think his favorite part of the whole day was a bit of the time we spent at his parent’s house. His parents have just moved back in town and had come across the Lego collection that they’d had from his youth. So, on our Father’s Day visit, out came the bin of Lego. Bald Man, the kids, and his parents were all in various parts of the living room arranging, categorizing and building with bunches of little Lego bricks. I just watched. You already know how well I do with Lego.

btw-Have you seen the photos of the Lego church? Amazing. There are tons of photos there.

Lego church via Tall Skinny Kiwi

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Free Lego Magazine Subscription

Kerri Aldrich — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 03:38:53 +0000

Did you know that Lego has a magazine? I didn’t, but I’m looking forward to seeing copies of it. However, not nearly as excited as Bald Man, I’m sure, being that he is, in fact, a Legomaniac. Anyway, head on over and you, too, can get signed up for your free 2 year subscription to Lego Magazine!

And, while you’re waiting for it to arrive, you can check out this photo of the largest ever Lego tower, and figure out how you will beat that record! It’ll only cost you the price of about a half a million Lego bricks.

via: Hsien

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Kid K’nex is Fantastic

Lei — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 15:39:05 +0000

My son’s favorite toy of late is Kid K’nex. In this podcast, he talks about the different things he makes with the building sets. I think I’ve created a podcasting monster!

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Tags: kid knex, kid k’nex, building sets, toys, children, kids, podcast, parenting, family

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Toy Creation: Play Doh EZ 2 Do Zoo

Kerri Aldrich — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 03:23:48 +0000

These are two of the creations that my kids made using the Play-Doh EZ 2 Do Zoo. (Pink Giraffe and Green Elephant, in case you weren’t sure. )

I like sets like these. I’m was never very good at coming up with something creative with just a lump of clay or a pile of Lego, and I always felt so lame watching other kids come up with the coolest sculptures and such while I sat there staring at the lump. I do have fun, though, replicating something while giving it my own little spin. I’m guessing there are lots of kids like me out there who are daunted by the idea of coming up with something from scratch, but who still love to play with Play-Doh and other arts and crafts materials. I think these types of sets are great for them. This set comes with several sets of eyes, feet, wings, ears and more, as well as some texture paddles that allow you to give a feathery or other texture to the Play-Doh body of the animals.

Of course, my 1 year old did both. He used the set and still came up with a brand new creation. What do you think we should name this one?

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Toy Creation: The Drawer Guitar

Kerri Aldrich — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:51:40 +0000

I can only imagine that this little creation came about after a morning of me telling my oldest son, “Please find something else to do besides bang on that drum!” Well, when you’re asked to stop playing one instrument, it’s best just to find another, yeah?

Actually, I don’t remember what prompted this activity; probably just the curiosity of a three year old. Jake wrapped this rubber band around the knobs of our side table (can any parent of a preschooler read that last phrase and not think of Side Table Drawer from Blue’s Clues? ), and had a blast making music. Quiet music. Quiet music is good in the midst of a hectic day.

Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun? What are the everyday objects in your home that turn into musical instruments?

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Toy Creation: Cars Town

Lei — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 18:56:03 +0000

Who says character toys are evil and stifle imagination? They can be trustworthy friends in play. Here’s a town my four-year-old made for his Disney Pixar Cars vehicles complete with parking spaces, roads, towers, and bridges.

Have a toy creation to share? Email me!

Tags: toys, children, kids, imagination, play, family, parenting

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Origami Cranes

Kerri Aldrich — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 06:38:53 +0000

Inspired by Hsien’s post on paper cranes, Bald Man surprised me with a flock of cranes as part of my Valentine’s Day gift. They were so beautiful, and I hear he had some help from cupid finding the right paper for the job (thanks, cupid ).

After folding eight of these cranes, he had all of the moves down for memory, and so he showed the kids and me how to fold our own cranes. We used construction paper for ours, and I could see why you would want a stronger paper for these as some of the tighter spots started to tear. Still I think they turned out pretty cute and colorful. It was a fun activity for us, and I can’t wait to learn something new!

Pictured above is the flock that Bald Man made for me. He said the first one took him about an hour, and then last 7 took him another hour total. He seemed like a pro by the time he taught us!

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Toy Creations: Cardboard Robots

Lei — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:15:00 +0000

One evening, my four-year-old decided to build himself a race track out of printer paper sized pieces of cardboard I had saved with no particular purpose in mind. At first, I was simply amazed at how proficient he was at wielding the very large kitchen shears when just a few months ago he could barely even hold children’s scissors properly. Then I was bowled over by what else he had planned.

For the track, we cut strips that were approximately two inches wide and 12 inches long. After he finished setting the track, he took the scissors and started cutting out smaller pieces and assembling them into robots with hats and noses. We used simple PVA glue to stick them together and 3-D sticker eyes from early learning centre. If he lets me, I might string them up and hang them somewhere fun.

Have you any toy creations to share? Email me!

Tags: crafts, children, kids, robots, parenting, toys, cardboard, creativity, creations

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