![[Educational] Spark and nurture curiosity: simple and fun DIY toys](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RI2cp6_8esw/sddefault.jpg)
In this article, we’ll introduce simple homemade toys that spark and nurture children’s curiosity.
Kids love toys, but they often get bored with new ones quickly, or drop and break them.
That’s when homemade toys come in handy!
This time, we’ll show you how to make DIY toys using easily available materials that can be put together in a short time.
We’ll also introduce many toys that support early learning, so be sure to check them out and try making some yourself.
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[Educational] Draw out and nurture their curiosity. Simple, fun handmade toys (1–10)
sensory bag
Let’s try making a sensory toy—an educational toy that stimulates the senses by touching and looking.
Prepare three kinds of fillings for a freezer bag: hair gel, liquid laundry starch, and baby oil.
Each has a different look and feel.
Add beads inside or tint them with paint.
Prank tissue box
Little kids love pulling things out, don’t they? Look away for just a moment and they’ve yanked a whole lot of tissues out! For children like that, how about making an educational toy called a “Mischief Tissue Box”? You can put it together quickly with an empty tissue box, some vinyl tape, and handkerchiefs.
bodkin (drawstring threader)
Let’s try making a threading toy using items you can find at a 100-yen shop.
Attach a string to a colored ball with a hot glue gun, draw eyes on the ball, and then thread pieces of hose—cut to any size you like—onto the string to create a snake.
It looks cute, and you can adjust the length to suit your child and play with it.
rattle
When it comes to baby toys, rattles that make sounds are a classic.
How about making one yourself? Just put colorful beads into a small plastic bottle, close the lid, and secure it with tape! You can also add items like tiny bells or marbles to create different sounds.
Marble Drop
A marble drop where you guide marbles inside a plastic bottle to fall smoothly through holes.
You can easily make it using only items you have at home.
Just cut a plastic bottle, insert pieces of thick paper with holes, and secure them with tape.
You can also draw characters on the cardboard pieces inside or decorate the plastic bottle to make it cute.
drop-in box toy
Let’s feed the animals with big open mouths.
Draw pictures of animals on empty boxes.
You can also cut out and paste drawings if you like.
Cut a hole the size of a plastic bottle cap at the animal’s mouth, and draw the animals’ favorite foods on the caps.
Give each animal its favorite food—for example, bananas for the monkey and carrots for the rabbit.
Educational toy that develops a science and math brain
We introduce three easy-to-make toys that train logical and mathematical thinking using items you have at home or can buy at a 100-yen shop.
One uses a small pegboard and rubber bands to create shapes, another helps children sense length and volume, and the third is a number-matching game made with construction paper and paper cups.
All are simple to make and highly recommended.