[Childcare] Recommended for toddlers! Toy ideas you can make and play with

Fluffy sponge ball

Handmade Toy: [Super Easy] How to Make a Fluffy Sponge Ball

Introducing a fluffy sponge ball that’s fun to touch! Prepare three sponges (you can find them at 100-yen shops), scissors, and a rubber band.

First, cut both ends of a sponge with scissors.

Make cuts on the left, right, and center to create eight tentacle-like strips.

Do the same with the other two sponges so each has eight “tentacles.” Stack the three cut sponges together, tie the center with a rubber band to secure them, and fluff the strips outward.

You’re done! Try tossing or rolling it and enjoy playing in different ways!

tambourine maracas

[Making Instruments with Children] Tambourine Maracas

Let’s make an original instrument! Here are ideas for a tambourine-maracas combo.

You’ll need deep paper plates, double-sided tape or craft glue, jingle bells, ribbons, masking tape, felt, sequins, and other decorative materials.

How about creating your very own instrument with a free imagination? It looks like a tambourine, can be shaken like maracas, and even played like a drum.

This kind of engaging craft nurtures children’s imagination.

Give it a try!

Magnetic matching game

Handmade magnetic matching game! A childcare worker explains how to make a 100-yen shop toy (for 1- and 2-year-olds)

Let’s promote fine motor development by sticking magnets on and pulling them off! Here are some ideas for magnet matching games.

These are handmade toys that even infants can enjoy, so take this opportunity to give them a try.

You’ll need a whiteboard, clear tape, magnetic sheets, colored pens, construction paper, and scissors.

For the designs, you can draw motifs that interest the children, or adapt them to focus on colors or numbers.

A nice bonus is that you can get the materials at a 100-yen shop!

A train that transforms

[Handmade Toy] A train toy that transforms using a milk carton 🚃💨

Let me introduce a train that transforms from a Shinkansen.

Prepare two milk cartons, scissors, construction paper, and a felt-tip pen, and let’s get making.

Lay a milk carton on its side and use the felt-tip pen to draw the outline of a Shinkansen, making sure the left and right sides are symmetrical.

Cut along the pen lines with scissors, then fold the tip of the roof section inward to form the shape.

Open up the second milk carton, shape it, and connect it to the back to couple them together.

The coupling is a key point, so be careful to fasten it securely so it doesn’t come apart.

By closing the milk carton to wrap around the front, or opening and closing it, you can change the train’s shape and have fun transforming it.

Decorating with construction paper and more is also recommended!

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Tambourine of Box and Bell

Household items turned into that instrument!? [Handmade Instruments]

Let me introduce an idea for a tambourine made with a box and bells.

You’ll need a round box, masking tape, wire, an awl, decorative origami paper, double-sided tape, and scissors.

Using sparkly origami or decorating with cutouts of your favorite motifs will really lift the mood! Divide up the tasks with the kids and make the tambourine together.

It’s safest for a parent or teacher to handle the step of punching holes in the container with the awl.

Enjoy making music with your very own original tambourine!