How to Make Homemade Toys for Toddler Boys

Cut off the fingers off an old pair of knitted gloves to make finger puppets. Draw on faces with markers or non-toxic paints. Food dyes are ideal for this purpose. Stitch on a bit of felt or yarn to make hair and hats.

Draw simple shapes such as circles and triangles on a cardboard box. Cut out the shapes. Seal up the box. Using leftover cardboard, cut out different shapes. Make the shapes different sizes and color in bright colors. Give the toddler the box and the shapes. Let him figure out which shapes can fit in the box and which ones cannot.

Create a pillowcase doggy. Use an old white or brown pillowcase and draw a picture of a dog on both sides. Cut out the shape of the dog. Stuff with a smaller pillow or leftover scraps of fabric. Stitch or staple the sides together. Use fabric paint to add details such as eyes and a tail. Glue on red yarn to give the pillowcase doggy a mouth. Stitch or staple an old sock to each side of the pillow to give the doggy floppy ears.

Make a bell. Tie an old key tightly to a piece of yarn about 2 inches long. Make a small hole in a plastic or Styrofoam cup. Pull the yarn through the hole in the cup and fasten it in place with a staple, glue or tape. Add a handle for your homemade bell by gluing an unsharpened pencil to the top.

Create a homemade train. Gather at least three small boxes. Place the largest box in front to make a caboose. Glue on another box (a different shaped or smaller-sized box will look good). Punch a hole in the side of the main caboose box. Pull yarn (or an old shoelace) through the hole. Secure the yarn to the third box with a staple or glue. Add more boxes to your train in the same manner. Create wheels from large buttons or round plastic lids. (Sew the buttons onto the sides. The lids can be stapled or glued.) Let the toddler make the train his own by drawing a design on each box.