[Childcare] Recommended for toddlers! Toy ideas you can make and play with
Toys you can make and play with can be created from everyday materials if you match them to your child’s age and interests.
Through crafting, kids can have fun, grow attached to what they make, and even find opportunities to communicate with friends.
Here, we’ll introduce simple, easy-to-make toy ideas for toddlers.
There are plenty of options for indoor play and for enjoying outside!
Many can be made easily using familiar recyclable materials, so please use this as a reference and try making them together with your children!
- [For toddlers] Simple but amazing craft ideas — including toys they can play with
- Age 4: Simple and Fun! Handmade Toy Ideas
- [Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts you can play with after making them
- Recommended for 5-year-olds! Simple DIY toy ideas
- Toddler-approved fun! DIY toy ideas for 2-year-olds
- [Childcare] Easy! Make a DIY target game. Playful craft and fun game
- [Childcare] Recommended for 3-year-olds! Craft activity ideas
- Paper cup crafts that elementary school kids will love! A collection of fun project ideas
- Make it with everyday materials! A collection of DIY toy ideas recommended for 1-year-olds
- An empty box becomes a toy! A collection of ideas for handmade toys
- Let’s make it with 3-year-olds! Fun handmade toy ideas
- [For 4-year-olds] Ideas for group games and craft activities that can be done indoors
- Fun crafts using straws
[Childcare] Recommended for toddlers! Toy ideas you can make and play with (131–140)
Goldfish scooping
You can even make a classic summer festival game—goldfish scooping—by hand! All you need are everyday items like a milk carton, vinyl tape, and PE tape.
First, make a “poi” scoop using a ring-shaped strip cut from a milk carton and a drain strainer net.
It’s safer for the teacher to handle the cutting and stapling.
Wrap the vinyl tape around the scoop you made.
For the goldfish, cut the milk carton into an egg shape, draw goldfish-like patterns, and attach PE tape as the tail with tape—that’s it! These goldfish actually float on water, so it feels more realistic.
Hope you catch lots of goldfish!
Milk Carton Yo-Yo
An unbreakable yo-yo made from a milk carton.
Cut the milk carton open so it forms a cross, and use stickers or markers to decorate the inside.
Make two holes in the bottom and thread a rubber band through them, then connect additional rubber bands to make it longer.
Gather the four cross-shaped flaps toward the center so the decorations face outward, tape them in place, and then secure firmly with a stapler to finish! If you swing it too hard, it becomes harder to catch.
It’s best to encourage gentle play, saying things like, “Try it gently so the rubber band doesn’t stretch out too much.”
string telephone
A classic handmade toy: a string telephone made with paper cups.
Many parents probably played with it when they were young, too.
If the string is taut, you hold one cup to your ear and speak into the other, and you can hear the voice even from a distance.
It’s very easy to make—poke a hole in the center of the bottom of each paper cup with an awl or similar tool, thread a piece of twine through, and secure it firmly so it doesn’t slip out.
You can also use a large bead to keep it in place.
These days, lots of cute paper cups are available.
You can even draw your own designs to give it a personal touch.
In conclusion
Toys you can make and play with using familiar materials—all of them were wonderful ideas that nurture young children’s imagination.
You were probably surprised that such fun toys can be made from everyday items like paper cups, cardboard, and milk cartons.
Cherish the time spent making them together with your children, and use play as a way to foster their creativity and ingenuity.