Homemade toys and free activities for kids

Homemade toys and free activities: why they’re good

Homemade games and free activities at home are a great way to keep children entertained, and to help them learn and grow. They don’t cost any money, and they can really boost your child’s creativity.  Especially if you need to stay home because of pandemic quarantines, or your income has become unexpectedly limited, you can still find many wonderful things for children to do.

It’s easy to come up with ideas for children as they get older. There are lots of toys and games that you and your child can create together.

You can also give your child things from around your home for some open-ended play – for example, young children usually love putting on and taking off the lids of containers, and older children often enjoy playing make-believe with old tea towels. Make sure that the things you give your child are unbreakable and too big to be choking hazards.

Playing with newborns

You’re the ‘toy’ that your newborn most enjoys. Your touch, the sound of your voice, being rocked in your arms, or staring at your face is more than enough entertainment for a new baby.

Your newborn will also love being outside when the weather is good, feeling the wind, hearing the sounds of birds, and experiencing new outdoorsy smells.

You could play gentle music to soothe your baby, or make bath time relaxing with a calm atmosphere and warm water, and a warm massage afterwards.

Newborn babies respond to music, but it’s your voice that they enjoy most. Hold your baby, sing, talk and make eye contact. These activities will keep your baby entertained, and help your baby learn and get to know you all at once.

All babies are unique and some babies take more time than others to enjoy new sensations, so watch how your baby responds, and see what he enjoys and is interested in. Your baby’s cues can help you know when your baby is happy to play or when he has had enough and wants a rest.

Playing with babies

Once your baby starts to move around more, she might enjoy more active play – especially with you.

Your baby will love to crawl all over you or grasp and shake objects to try out new movement skills. All young children need time for quiet play too, so watch for cues that your baby needs some downtime.

Here are some play ideas for babies:

• Make time for one-on-one play every day – for example, talking with your baby or counting his toes. You can make this a part of routine activities like nappy-changing.
• Blow raspberries on your baby’s tummy and tickle little toes.
• Make a toy shaker. Fill an emptied, washed and dried juice or milk container with rice, pasta, peas, dried pulses or even old buttons (make sure the lid is secure to avoid choking hazards).
• Sing songs and nursery rhymes. Babies really love these when you repeat actions like clapping hands or doing twinkling star fingers.
• Read books as part of your baby’s daily routine – for example, before bedtime. Your local library is a great place to borrow books for free, or if the library isn't available, make up stories from your own childhood or traditions.
• Make a drum using upside-down boxes, pots or plastic tubs. Give your baby a wooden spoon to bang the drum with.

Playing with toddlers

Toddlers are like little scientists. Their play is often about experimenting, observing, testing, trying out ideas and figuring out how things work.

You could try the following homemade, free play ideas for toddlers:

• Give your toddler some pegs and a peg container. Your child will happily move pegs in and out of the container – over and over and over again!
• Cut pieces of cardboard into small envelopes and decorate them. You could also make a ‘post box’ by cutting slits into the front of an old ice-cream container or cardboard box.
• Make some playdough and let her just squelch it between her fingers.  Together you can also build towers, pancakes, balls – whatever your toddler likes.
• Put together a box of old clothes for some dress-up or pretend play.
• Go for some outdoor play wherever space is now available.

Find more creative ideas for homemade toys and free activities in our article on encouraging toddlers’ creative and artistic development.

Playing with preschoolers

Many of the ideas for toddlers are also wonderful for your preschooler,  Also, try some of the following play ideas. They’re fun and will also help with your child’s fine motor skills and gross motor skills:

• Show your child how to stuff old stockings with paper or material scraps to make creatures like a snake or caterpillar.
• Make a sock puppet using old socks. Sew on buttons or paste other bits of material for eyes, nose and hair.
• Fill a box with clean, old clothes for dressing up.You could use an ice-cream container to make a fun dress-up hat. Cover it with foil, and your preschooler is an astronaut. You can also paste material, fake flowers or pom-poms onto a container to turn your child into a fancy guest at a tea party.
• Fold newspaper into a pirate’s or magician’s hat. Let your preschooler cut out and paste on coloured pictures cut from old magazines.
• Let your child’s imagination turn old cardboard boxes into toys – a car, cubbyhouse, shop counter or kitchen stove.
• If possible now, visit the local park or a friend’s house, or just take a walk in your garden or local neighbourhood. These are all sources of adventure and fun for your child.
• Tape some scrap paper together to make a simple book. Let your child create the story and decorate the pages either by drawing the characters herself or cutting and pasting them out of old magazines.

Check out our article on encouraging preschoolers’ creative and artistic development. It has lots of ideas for using everyday objects to make fun new homemade toys.

Play is the main way babies and young children learn. But if play isn’t fun, it’s not really play. Letting your child lead the play helps to keep things fun. For babies, this might be stopping play if they’re tired. For preschoolers, it might be letting them choose what they want to play with.