Binoculars

This post will be on making homemade binoculars, an oldie but goodie. I'm sure many of us have made these when we were younger but haven't made them with our kids. These are great for hikes, walks, bike rides, playground, well just about anywhere since kids are always exploring their environment. The best part is they take little effort to make. In this post I went ahead and made the binoculars but you can surely have your child involved in making the binoculars. Kids seem to love decorating toilet paper tubes. Just try and let your kid decorate it their way. You know when a kid has done the work themselves and when parents have had input. Let them do it! They'll be even prouder. 

For my binoculars I used some toilet paper tubes, some string, and some craft tape, that's it! So simple and easy. I'm always looking for a bargain so I found my craft tape on sale at Michaels for $2.99, what a steal for 6 yards of craft tape! Of course, the tubes came from my house, and the string was left over from a previous project. 

Here's my supplies:

All I did was wrap the tubes with the tape, staple the tubes together, make holes for the string, and tied the string on and that's it!!! So easy and quick! It'll provide your child with endless exploring. 

Didn't they turn out great! Now they're ready for my son to go exploring! Don't forget the possibilities are endless. Let them explore nature, or explore for letters and colors, let them use them to find the perfect book at the library, use them in the car (so many things to see while sitting in your carseat!), don't limit these to just nature, let your child decide what they want to use them for, keep it open-ended and just have fun! 

Happy exploring and look NO battery bunnies needed =)

First….

First before I put up a post on any toys I just want to make sure it's known I am by no means a toy professional or educational professional. I am stating my opinion from being a mom of 3 and a teacher assistant in a preschool classroom for 8 years. I have also taken various early childhood education classes in college and multiple early childhood education trainings. So from all my years of parenting and working with preschoolers these are the things I've come up with or have loved and strongly believe in. So, again these are my opinions and things that have worked for me and my kids. I just hope someone else can enjoy these ideas and opinions as much as I have.

Now onto fun….

What is Saying NO to Batteries

I'm so excited and ready to start a blog about Saying NO to Bunnies!!!! What does Saying NO to Bunnies mean? It means saying no to toys with batteries (no more energizer bunny). Ok, maybe not a complete NO but a significant no, by buying and making toys that don't require batteries to play. I believe in toys that aid our children through their different developmental stages and are open ended. A lot of toys that require batteries play songs or light up when buttons are pressed so therefore the results are always the same and don't leave much room for their imaginations. And what happens when the batteries run out and you don't change them right away, a lot of these toys don't do much after that. And why are they always so loud and annoying, right! Does this mean I don't ever get toys that require batteries….NO. I have a few, not very many but a few. I used to have more for my first two children, but over the years have come to appreciate toys without batteries. I've come to see how much more fun my kids have without the batteries, how much more they learn, reach developmental goals, and use their imaginations. A toy that was meant for one purpose ends up being used for so many more things. 

I'm not trying to change the world of toys, or start an anti-battery revolution, just trying to share how much happier I've been since omitting battery powered toys from our lives. I know these toys can sometimes be expensive so I've also found ways to make similar toys at home. Doesn't your child always have fun at school with all those manipulatives and toys that are usually battery free yet you can't find those at the stores just at teacher supply stores that only come in classroom sizes (with a hefty price tag), there's so many ways to replicate these or what they do on your own. I worked as a preschool teacher assistant for 8 years and was always amazed at how much these kids learned through play and would play with these same battery-less toys for months without tiring. I know what you're thinking right now, how will they learn the ABC's if the toy doesn't tell them, well that's where we as parents come in (we are our child's first teacher). You don't have to do it every time but repetition is the key and the more you help them with it the faster they'll get it. I know we have busy lives but again it doesn't have to be every time they play but when you get even a minute you sit and point out and say the letters and they'll pick it up! I've tested this out on my son and its pretty true. How many times do we sit on the floor and play with our kids now your just joining in a little more verbally that's all! It makes it all the more rewarding when they learn new things.

My goal is to share the toys and games I make for ages newborn through preschool age, as well as the toys I buy and LOVE! Don't you love getting suggestions on toys that kids love and are worth your hard earned dollar. I'm so excited for us to go on this NO Bunny ride together! Hopefully we can all learn from each other to give our kids the best we can to grow their precious little minds and bodies. =)