Two of Dulcie's favourite toys of late are both handmade. This gorgeous doll was made for her by my sister. Dulcie and I both love her (I mean the doll, though we love my sister too). So far she's called Dolly, we'll see if it sticks. I'm hoping Dolly might come in handy in the weeks/months to come. I'm still hopeful I can persuade Dulcie back into her own bed without resulting to meanie-mum tactics, so a bedtime companion as snuggly as this might be a useful secret weapon.
This toy she's playing with here was one I made for her. I think I mentioned it in a previous blog post, not that it really merits two mentions! It doesn't have the same aesthetic appeal as my sister's doll, I'll admit, but as you'll see, it keeps her very entertained and has been a great help in developing her hand-eye co-ordination etc. The plastic discs are ones that used to house my grandfather's coin collection. Rather than throw them out, my forward-thinking parents kept them for Dulcie to play with. I cut a hole in the top of an old ice-cream tub and Dulcie can spend ages posting the discs through the slot. She looks like an old pro now, but she hadn't managed to get a single disc through until just a couple of weeks ago. I do have great plans for this toy, actually. Since the discs come apart and are hollow inside, I'm planning to fill them with interesting objects just as soon as I have a minute. That way I think this toy could keep entertaining Dulcie for years to come, giving her a chance to learn about colours and sort them into different sets etc. (Once a primary teacher, always a primary teacher, I guess. I am excited about developing this resource! Ha!)
Here's a video of Dulcie playing with her tub and discs the other day. It's kind of long and is probably not that amazing if, unlike me, you are not besotted with the girl, but the last 30 seconds or so are undeniably pretty smart, if you ask me. And it does show how much this simple toy can hold her attention.
Do let me know if you've ever made an inspired toy for a baby/small child. Cutting a hole in an ice-cream tub is probably about the level of craftsmanship I'm thinking of here -I ain't no Geppetto!
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When my sister was a baby my mum made a similar toy out of an old sma powdered milk tin and some plastic practise golf balls. My sister carried it everywhere and favoured it over any fancy-pants toy that was put in front of her; she still talks about it fondly now ;-) x
ReplyDeleteI think my sister famously loved a Quality Street tin with some old cotton reels in it... which means I probaly played with it as a hand-me-down! Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse ;)
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