Inexpensive Home Made Toys and Activity Ideas

I know from when I was a child and looking at my two children now the most fun they have is from the least inexpensive stuff available. I have a 6-year-old daughter and a 20-month-old son. When I look at the amount of toys they both have it makes me feel rather guilty. I can honestly say that for the amount of money we have spent on them it is ridiculous and to be honest a complete waste of money. Here are a few things that my children love to do which barely costs a penny! Saucepans I can say for sure that at the moment my son has a complete obsession with saucepans at the moment. From the moment he wakes till the time he goes to ...  Read the complete review

With the credit crunch hitting everyone hard, I've made an even bigger effort to find things to do with my 18 month old daughter and 5 year old nephew rather than buying them toys when they tire of the old ones. Here are just a few cheap ideas that should keep you going for a while. ~~ Craft Type Toys ~~ Always keep your empty boxes, cartons, envelopes and newspapers as they will come in handy at some point and it will work out a lot cheaper than constantly buying craft materials or new toys. It is possible to make almost anything from cardboard or a box, bits of paper and cartons of various sizes and shapes. Here are just a few ideas ...  Read the complete review

As I work in a nursery and have done various placements in schools, I would like to share with you one of the activity plans which I have found very enjoyable to do with reception aged children and upwards (or even more advanced pre schoolers) Decorative stones Resources - Stones collected from a trip/brought from home and washed, paints and paintbrushes, serviettes and/or napkins with patterns on, scissors, PVA glue Health and Safety considerations Supervision when using scissors Explain to children that you will be painting and decorating stones to use as paperweights, show example and let them choose ...  Read the complete review

I think that children's imaginations especially when they are tiny are amazing! They really don't need to to have the latest toys - there is plenty of time for that later when they are on their teens. Thinking back to my favorite childhood memories it it things that were relitively inexpensive and allowed me time with frineds and family that i really enjoyed. Now i have a duaghter myself, I make teddy bears out of my daughters clothes that she has out grown and as any one with a child will know this happens very quickly. If it is a nice fabric i think it is a shame to throw it away and i think that they make nice keep sakes - as does a patchwork quilt ...  Read the complete review

Over five years of parenting I think it would be fair to say that I have learned the hard way that the inexpensive things are sometimes the best for having fun with your children. I read recently that many parents are not doing art and craft things with their children as they don't like the mess and that this is a bad thing. Whilst I always take these articles with a pinch of salt (there is an article every week to make you feel bad about your parenting), I do think that it is a good idea to share ideas that work and that are cheap and fun, so here is one of my favourite ideas! Playdough recipe: This recipe is one that I often use and is worth ...  Read the complete review