Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project – making homemade toys.

This week’s instructions are for a homemade bouncing ball, a catapult and a paper plate dinosaur.

Every child loves getting new toys but the joy and satisfaction they get from making their own are even better.

Teaching kids to make their own toys helps them to understand the value of things – the time it takes and the steps required to complete a project.

I try to find projects that do not require a lot of expensive craft items and these projects fit the bill.

HOMEMADE TOYS

BOUNCING BALLS

When I read the recipe for this project I was a bit sceptical, but it turns out they do actually bounce and are loads of fun to make.

MATERIALS

(These ingredients will make one ball).

• 1 TBSP borax
• ½ cup warm water
• 2 TBSP white liquid glue
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• Food colouring

NOTE: The cornstarch tends to go everywhere if little kids are mixing this so it’s a good idea to cover your work surface with a plastic tablecloth. The food colouring tends to stain hands for a while so disposable gloves are also a good idea, though not really practical for tiny hands.

METHOD

• Mix the borax and warm water.
• In a separate container, mix the glue, cornstarch and food colouring – you can add several colours if desired.
• When you are happy with the colour, add the glue mixture to the borax.
• You will find the glue mixture hardens almost immediately.

• Use a fork to take it out of the water and start squishing it in your hands. Continue squishing and rolling – the more you handle it, the firmer it becomes.

CATAPULTS

This project kept the Goddesses entertained for ages. We started with marshmallow ‘ammunition’ to see if we could get them to fly into the little mouths. We then moved on to small pom pom ‘ammunition’ to see who could make their pom pom fly the furthest.

MATERIALS

• 9 x craft sticks – paddle pop sticks don’t work as well as they are too small.
• 6-8 rubber bands
• Plastic spoon

METHOD

• Place 7 of the craft sticks on top of each other and use rubber bands to secure at each end.
• Secure the remaining two sticks at one end.
• Gently push the large stick pile in between the other two sticks, as close to the rubber band as you can get it.
• Secure this in place by twisting a rubber band in crisscross fashion around the two sets of sticks.

• Use rubber bands to secure a spoon to the top craft stick as per the picture.
• Use soft ‘ammunition’ such as pom poms or marshmallows.

DINOSAUR

MATERIALS

• Paint
• Paper plate
• Cardboard roll
• Googly eye
• Scissors
• Glue

METHOD

• Paint the paper plate and cardboard roll.
• When dry, use a ruler to mark a line from one edge of the plate to the other, about one-third of the way from the edge of the plate to the centre and then cut it.
• Cut the cardboard roll in half and add two little slits on each side of each roll.
• Slide the larger section of the plate into the slits.
• Use the other section of the plate to cut out little triangles for the spikes and a head and tail shape.
• Glue these to the dinosaur body.
• Experiment with different head and tail shapes. This craft is so cheap and easy you can make a whole herd of dinosaurs.

If you enjoyed these homemade toys crafts please be sure and share.

Check out my post-Marble Run Fun for another great homemade toy idea. follow me on Pinterest for more creative ideas.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.