Toys kids can make
Can you make you own toys? Sure, why not? Handmade toys can be as much fun to make as they are to play with. Simple toys made by kids, such as paper airplanes, spinners and parachutes are well known.
Have you got time on your hands? Are you bored? Do you need to amuse little children you are watching? Some of these old fashioned toys are simple and cheap to make.
Moving Hand Toys
Rubber-legged Spider
Use a blob of clay and 5 rubber bands to make a spider. Cut four of the rubber bands in half and snip the last rubber band so it forms one long piece. The eight halves will be legs. The long band is to hold the spider. Shape your clay into a spider shape. Add a head and googley-eyes if you want. Paint the back with stripes to make it bright.
After the paint dries, connect the legs by pressing each into the clay spider’s underside. Attach the long band to the top center of the spider’s body. Suspend the spider on the rubber band and move your hand up and down to make the spider bounce and his legs wiggle.
Mini Pocket Yo-Yo
Use two large buttons and some thread to make a tiny yo-yo which you can pull out and spin to amuse your friends. Sew two large buttons together back to back by passing thread back and forth through the holes and finally knotting. Tie one end of a heavy thread to the yo-yo’s axle and wind the heavy thread round and round the axle. Tie a loop in the end of the string to fit your finger through.
Hold your hand out and drop the yo-yo. Pull up when the string has almost unwound to the floor. Learn the skill of making the yo-yo spin.
Whirly Horse and Rider
For this toy, use a rectangular piece of poster board (8x6 inches). Draw a running horse with no rider on one side of the paper. On the other side, draw a rider with no horse. Draw the rider upside down and in a riding position.
Punch a small hole in the center of each end of the rectangle. Attach a loop of string through each hole and whirl the picture around until the strings are twisted tightly. Then by pulling on the strings you can cause the picture to spin. The rider will appear to be riding the horse.
Noise Making Toys
The Moaner
If you like noise you will love this toy. Cut a poster board rectangle 6 x 4 inches. With scissors cut three sides of a smaller rectangle inside the first. Leave a border of about one inch around. Do not detach the inner rectangle. Pull four large rubber bands over the rectangle holding the cut-out shape inside. The bands should be lined up like guitar strings.
Punch a hole in the border which edges the uncut side. Run a snipped rubber band through that hole and tie a knot. Holding the end of the band spin the card around and around yourself. What a great noise you can make!
Rattling Bones
A homemade rhythm device can be made for clickety-clacking a beat. Use two flat pieces of hard wood or bone, each 6 inches long, about 1inch wide and ½ inch thick. Two halves of a wooden ruler work fine. Hold the ends of the “bones” together between your fingers—one between your first and second fingers and the other between your second and third fingers. Hold the sticks just tightly enough to keep them in place, but loosely enough to allow them to touch and clack together.
Paper Plate or Tube Rattle
Tape two paper plates with top sides together. Leave a small gap and insert a handful on dry beans into the hollow. Tape the gap closed and shake the plates.
Use a paper towel tube to make a different shaker. Cut two circles larger than the ends of the. Tape the circle on one end of the tube. Fill the tube with a handful of beans. Tape the second end paper cap over the tube opening. Shake the tube for noise.
Megaphone
Cut a piece of poster board and roll it into a funnel shape, forming an opening at one end about one inch wide. Staple or tape the sides together. Trim off excess from wide end. Shout through the phone and magnify your voice.
It is great entertainment to make toys. The skill will surprise your siblings and friends. With a little ingenuity and effort on your part, and almost no cost, you can make most of these toys.
Source:suite101
