Positive Parenting: With creative thinking, recycled materials can spell F-U-N for youngsters
by Nicole Ryder
As the holidays are wrapping up, you can find lots of useful material collecting rapidly in your garage or recycling bin. Specifically, look for empty boxes; empty egg cartons; and tubes from wrapping paper, paper towel, and toilet tissue.
Instead of taking these materials to the trash or the recycling center, think creatively to come up with ways you can turn these materials into fun toys for your kids to play with.
According to Australian parenting website RaisingChildren.net.au, creating homemade toys “can boost curiosity, creativity and imagination.”
The website explains there are “plenty of everyday things around your home that you can use for toys, games, activities and open-ended play.” Some of the examples provided on the site are as simple as making containers available for little ones who love putting container lids on and taking them off again. For kids who are a little older, providing old sheets and towels leads to good times playing make-believe.
The site reminds parents to make sure the things you give your children to play with are safe to use. Specifically, they recommend making sure the items are “nontoxic, unbreakable, and too big to be choking hazards. Also, they shouldn’t have sharp edges.”
Recycle paper tubes: Do you have a collection of paper tubes from wrapping paper or toilet tissue? If so, consider making them into musical shakers by cutting them down, if necessary, and adding beans inside. Seal them closed to avoid a choking hazard, and cover them with colorful designs on the outside.
Toilet tissue tubes can also be made into stacking blocks. Or, make binoculars by rubber banding two tubes together. Think outside the box by making a DIY “kerplunk” game with unsharpened pencils, tissue tubes, and a hole punch.
Reuse egg cartons: If you have egg cartons, make them into a color-sorting activity by painting each section of the carton a different color and providing colorful pom-poms or popsicle sticks for matching. Egg cartons can also be cut apart and made into stacking blocks. Or use them for counting activities by putting one Cheerio in each egg cup and have your child learn to count the Cheerios.
Reimagine with boxes: Boxes of all sizes can be made into many different activities. For instance, set up a make-believe road and town for your children, and let them take turns “driving” a cardboard box in the town. This can be a super fun activity for little learners. Meanwhile, large appliance-sized boxes can be made into indoor playhouses.
The fun thing about using recycled materials is that you—and your children—can be creative and come up with hundreds of ways to put these materials to good use.
Make egg cartons into a color-sorting activity. Paint each section a different color and provide colorful pom-poms or popsicle sticks for matching. Image credit: Nicole Ryder
Reuse and recycle for fun: Examples of everyday things kids will put to good use are old sheets and towels for playing make-believe. Image credit: Nathan Dumlao on unsplash.com
Nicole Ryder is a Play and Learn Group specialist at Ingham Intermediate School District. Currently she runs Play and Learn Groups in Stockbridge, Mason, and Leslie. Previously, she was a special education teacher for 20 years. She is also “mom” to her two teenage boys.
