Toys That Kids Can Make Themselves

Felt People

• Felt people toys are good for children who enjoy crafts. Have children draw outlines of people on pieces of felt. Draw the outlines so that the arms and legs extend from the body. Stick the felt figures with glue or tape to pieces of cardboard. Help them trim the outlines of the figures. Use markers to draw faces on the outlines. Add yarn with some glue to create hair. This figure also can serve as a pattern for making dresses, skirts or pants for the people using the felt scraps.

Personal Jigsaw Puzzles

• Give children plain white sheets of paper. Encourage them to draw and paint something that they like. Once they finish painting, use rubber cement or a glue stick to stick the paper to thick pieces of cardboard. Let the cement of glue dry. Cut the image into various shapes to create a jigsaw puzzle. Have the children put the image back together after cutting the image into pieces.

Binoculars or Telescopes

• Give two empty toilet paper tubes to a child. Have the child paint or decorate the exteriors of the tubes with markers or crayons how they like. Stick the two tubes together with tape after the paint or marker dries. The tubes make a set of binoculars. To make telescopes, attach the ends of paper towel tubes together.

Clay

• Help kids make clay. A cup of flour and half a cup of salt is needed to make it. Put the ingredients into a large bowl and them mix thoroughly using your fingers. Add a few drops of food coloring to water. Add the colored water to the flour and salt mixture. Add cooking oil to the mixture. Knead the flour well adding more water and oil until the mixture feels like clay. Have the children make shapes, animals or buildings. After the flour mixture dries, the children can paint the miniature sculptures.