Encouraging Kiwi kids with big imaginations

playtime

Little kids have big imaginations, and if you turn them loose, they’ll turn just about anything into a toy or dress-up! Here are 10 things around the house they can turn into toys.

1. Boxes

Boxes make great dolls’ houses, castles, or Tidmouth sheds. They can also be turned into rocket ships, boats, forts, car garages, and dolls’ beds.

2. Brown Paper

Brown paper comes by the roll and can be decorated with felts or crayons to create roads for cars, villages, a table cloth for an indoor picnic, or trace your child laying down on a sheet of brown paper and then let them dress the life-sized kid with colouring pencils, sequins and glitter, feathers and fabric scraps.

3. Pots and containers

Pots and plastic containers make great drums and tomtoms – use wooden spoons as drumsticks.

4. Cushions and pillows

Sofa cushions and pillows can create forts, Nerf war barriers, beds for stuffed-toy patients while playing hospital, rocks to hop to and from when the carpet is lava, and shipwreck detritus to swim toward and cling to in the ocean.

5. Paper

Paper can be folded, cut, threaded with string, and drawn upon to make treasure maps, paper dolls, hats, boats, snowflakes, paper aeroplanes, and origami animals.

6. String

String is great for making telephone lines in two empty tins, threading down the hallway to make a laser maze, and hung from chairs to make a flying fox for stuffed toys.

7. Laundry baskets

Laundry baskets make great beds for dolls and stuffed animals, dogs’ baskets, boats, and even enclosed placed to read books for children who like being cuddled up in a cosy, close-fitting place.

8. Chairs and tables

Chairs and tables can be used to make forts and tents, used to hold elastics for jumping over, essential for musical chairs, or setting up a teddy bears’ tea party.

9. Match boxes

Match boxes (empty, of course) are wonderful mini boats for puddles and flowing water after a rainstorm, and make cute wee houses for tiny dolls. They’re also great for holding small treasures that kids like to hoard – sequins, buttons, beads, and glitter.

10. Cornflour

Cornflour is an essential ingredient when making slime, foam dough, moon sand, and even homemade face paint or sidewalk chalk.

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