The All-Purpose Box Tunnel

One of Little Biscuit's favorite aspects of train tables are the cool tunnels he gets to push things through. So when we had a giant cardboard box leftover from his early Christmas present, I knew I had to put it to work :) Here's a peak into some of the action it's been seeing lately, and what Biscuit has been using his new tunnel for:
1. For farm trucks...
2. For tiny race cars...3. For small trains...
4. For big trains...5. Um. For...tot-sized train lovers!?Oh well...I guess he likes it :)

Toddler-Style Game Cube ;)

A NOTE ABOUT SAFETY: this project contains small parts and sharp wire so if you make your own cube, make sure to take measures to keep the components securely fastened to the basket and fold down all sharp ends inside the basket; tightly tape small sections of plastic neon straw over any connecting ends of chenille stem on the tangle maze. A cardboard wipe box or other object can be fastened inside the basket to limit accessibility. Always supervise your child when using this toy.

The past few weeks Biscuit has been getting really impatient. Specifically, he cannot bear the idea of waiting for me to finish doing something in the kitchen. For instance, if I have to wash the dishes, warm up milk, make dinner or anything whatsoever in the kitchen, he stands behind the gate and pounds his head on the bar until I'm done. I really needed something special to let him play with to distract him ONLY when I have kitchen responsibilities to attend to - something he might actually look forward to using while I work. He really likes those little wooden play cubes they have at doctor's offices and the library, but they are super expensive. So I decided to try to improvise one out of a plastic storage bin I already had from the dollar store. First we went to Hobby Lobby for a few odds and ends to add to it and I worked on it while Biscuit took his nap. For part of the first side I made a mini-abbicus for learning to count one to five; on the other section of that side I tied on an old shoelace for him to maybe eventually learn to tie his shoes (I colored it with a marker for some visual interest). The next side was inspired by toddler book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar; I made it out of fuzzy bright pompoms strung onto bead wire with chenille-stem antennae so Biscuit can slide the pompoms up and down to make the caterpillar seem bigger or smaller. On the third side I made a yellow tangle maze from chenille stems with baseball beads and foam star beads to glide along. And the final side was an over-sized jingle bell (Biscuit's favorite part!) with some washers and nuts from Big Biscuit's tool box strung on for more fun sounds and movement.



















I realized it had something for all the senses except taste and smell, but then it hit me that the top of the cube can be used as a snack tray. So I guess it covers all those bases. He has really enjoyed it so far (particularly the bell). But now the real test is whether it'll work for those "waiting times" when I'm busy in the kitchen! I'll keep you posted ;)

Bargain-Basement Sandbox (Literally!)

Since the rain cooled things off last night, the big activity of the day was going to be a stroll around the neighborhood to check out the interesting curbside junk that had been set out for the bulk trash pickup truck (on a busy bulk day this makes for an interesting no-cost toddler activity). We did find a few assorted piles of castaway goods but were somewhat disappointed that there wasn't more to see (we walked a long way too and only found about three or four homes who had stuff to toss). At first glance nothing was too exciting so we went home to move onto other adventures. But later, as I was looking at the pics we took, I noticed this little gem of an old bookshelf in one of the toss piles...and having just used a similar item for a toybox, it hit me that the same thing could be made into a great sandbox! I've been looking for a week around my house for something to use for one but everything was too small or impractical. I kicked myself for letting this one get away...surely the trash truck had already come by that time (it was 2 pm!). But just in case (and I don't advocate this practice generally), Little Biscuit and I drove over to the house to see if the bookshelf was still there. Sure 'nuf, it was! So we hauled it away and set up downstairs in Biscuit's basement playroom. I already had a bag of sand that cost me $3.39 at Home Depot. I put down an old bath mat beside the box to catch any big spills but since the floor is linoleum and we have a shop-vac I'm not too worried about the mess factor. I also made Biscuit a little seat on the edge the box out of a bean-bag cube ottoman I already had from Target. Here was his reaction upon meeting sand for the first time!!


A little tentative at first...(some tears, even!)




























Hey, this might not be so bad!

Bring it on!!!

Toddler-friendly toy storage solution

Lately I've been getting kinda desperate for a more ideal storage place for Biscuit's toys. We've accumulated so many that we've actually been using his pack 'n play as a catch-all. I also had a few of his odds and ends on a small bookshelf in his playroom but it didn't hold many and I figured it'd be any day now that he'd start trying to climb it. So, since I was working on organizing yesterday in the basement anyway and getting rid of as many old boxes as possible and consolidating stuff into rubber storage tubs, I decided to try to come up with something more practical for the toys. Turns out the bookshelf was helpful after all - I ended up laying it flat on the floor to make a big open "chest" after removing most of the shelves. Then I used 4 more of those empty diaper boxes (the 124 count size, bless 'em!) to fill the space inside the bookshelf. I was so excited that they fit perfectly!! Now all his toys have a "home" - there's a box for balls, another for rolling cars/trucks/etc., and one for misc. small plastic toys. There's still one yet to fill which I'll probably use for soft toys (most of those are upstairs in his bedroom at the moment). Anyway, I didn't want anything heavy for a lid lest Biscuit squash his fingers but I didn't want all the toys always showing either. So I locked some of his extra foam floor mat pieces together and taped it to some pieces of old foam board I had laying around. Now I have a way to cover up the new toy box when it's not being used. Overall here's why I like it:


1. It's not so high anymore should Biscuit decide to climb it, and he can't pinch his fingers.
2. He can't pull out the boxes and dump things all over the floor very easily. (That's why I didn't want to spring for one of those bin organizer systems - I pictured him grabbing the bins and pouring them all over his own head. But with this floor setup he can still reach in to the boxes and get out what he wants.
3. It's too heavy for Biscuit to tip over onto himself, lift up or push around the room.
4. I didn't have to spend hours online searching for exactly what I wanted, on sale, or groaning about the shipping cost, or stressing over the gas prices if I went shopping for it, or trying to figure out how to have it delivered if I found something decent at a yard sale.
4. Since we had the components already around the house, I essentially didn't have to pay for it.
5. It was free!
6. Did I mention this project cost me nothing...as in nada, zilch, not a penny, zipporooney--0$??

Okay...so for toys too big to put into the box, I made several zones in his playroom (for instance, a sports zone for his soccer goal, basketball hoop, baseball toys, etc., and a music zone for his keyboard, xylophone and drum. And so he wouldn't feel like all his toys were banished to the toy box downstairs, I purchased six small stacking bins from Dollar Deals so I could put one "toy-or-book corner" in each room of the house (besides the bathrooms). I plan to rotate these with fresh toys from the box or simply switch the bins from room to room.