Playtime!

I don't buy a lot of toys because I don't like the clutter . I don't like the price and my kids don't play with anything long enough to make it worth the investment. (I think it might frustrate little visiting friends because in their mind there isn't much to do here. . .) But I don't mind a good toy-making project with the kids. They learn a different set of values when making their own toys, and it gives us time together. Here are a few as of late.

Magnets, Cans and Recycled Items:

I saw a version of this on here. The slinkies would be fun, but this was a free project from stuff I had at home. Maybe if I ever get to the dollar store and actually remember, I'll buy a slinky or two. But for now, here is what we have. The girls have enjoyed this a lot.

Puppets:

Growing up I loved to make salt box puppets. I made a dozen or so of them and kept them in a box. So I decided to make some with the girls. While they haven't been as exited about them as I was, they loved the process and have played a bit with them.  (Hard to tell from the photos, but the mouths are the dispenser on the salt box and when you put your hand in and move the dispenser, you can make it talk.)  Sorry for the bad pictures. . .the girls were not in the mood and I wasn't in the mood to coax. Still, they meet the purpose of documentation.

Bakery:
I saw this idea at Ikat Bag and loved it, but knew I couldn't pull it off myself because of my lack of sewing skills. BUT if my sister could do that end of it, I could do the paper part for both of us. She agreed and we collaborated. She didn't want to do the zipper (fine with me!) so she used magnetic snaps. Works just fine. And she threw in some adorable chef hats. As I got going on my part, I wanted more than candles for toppers so we have a large variety of "toppings". I also got way carried away making frostings. . .perhaps there are too many choices for such young children. But it makes it so much more fun when I play!

             

 Tessa hugging Greta for the donuts she made for her. Bad angle I know, but I knew it would be short lived so didn't
 take time to move.  I'm thankful to have captured the sweetness that occurs between these sisters often.

When you add a topper to the donuts, you have large cookies instead!

Smile  and dance while you bake the donuts!

So fun!

(Sorry for the weirdness of these pictures. I couldn't figure how to manipulate them very well with the new new interface and when I went back to the old, I couldn't adjust or move them like I could before.  Tips anyone?)