Appendix B: Toys You Can Make

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HealthWiki > Helping Children Who Are Blind > Appendix B: Toys You Can Make

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Toys that help develop use of hands and sense of touch

You can make beads and chains out of wild fruits and nuts.

prickly	rough and smooth	fuzzy	wrinkled or lumpy	smooth	wriggly

For a baby, hang a ring of beads where she can reach and handle it.	A child can play putting the nuts and pods in and out of a container.	As the child develops more hand control, she can begin to make chains and necklaces by stringing beads on a cord.
	Later he can learn to sort them.

‘Snakes’ can be made by stringing nuts, 'caps' of acorns, bottle caps, or any combination of things.

small green mango (or whatever you can think of) bottle caps beans for ‘rattle’ of rattlesnake

‘Hedgehogs’

acorn

knobby sticks from papache bush

papache (woody fruits from wild bush)

cloves

guasima fruit

Rattles and other noise toys

Gourd rattle
Find a small gourd (wild gourds or tree gourds may work).	Cut a round hole at the stem and clean out the seeds and flesh. Let it dry out well.	Put 2 or 3 small rocks, nuts or other objects inside.	Find a stick the size of the hole. If the hole is large, thin down this part of the stick.	Glue the stick to the gourd.	To make it stronger and better looking, mix white glue and sawdust, fill in here, and after the glue dries, sand it smooth.
				Glue here

Plastic bottle rattle		Bamboo rattle	Tin can rattle
a see-through plastic bottle stick of wood strips cut from plastic bottles of different colors, colorful stones, nuts, etc. ring cut from a plastic bottle, bamboo or whatever you have ring can be wrapped with strips of cloth or tire tubing for easier grip		SIMPLE FORM cork or plug WITH HANDLE

Cowhorn rattle

Trim rough edges.

Put in a cardboard or wood plug.

small rocks

Then seal with a mix of sawdust and white glue, or plaster of Paris.

glue sawdust Smooth the surface and let it dry.

Ideas for homemade music

		can lids		can lids
gourds with seeds in them	2 wood sticks	tambourine	jingle bells	jingle bells
marimba loose hardwood plates			castanets (wooden clappers)

Soft rattle

Use a small can or bottle with a small stone inside...	...or use 2 small bells.	Cut a colorful soft cloth (flannel) into this shape.	Sew it into a square and turn inside out.	Place can or bells in cloth square and pack wild kapok, cotton or bits of sponge around it. Sew it shut.
				wild kapok

Doll rattle

Draw a doll on 2 pieces of cloth, and cut them out.

Leave a small opening. Sew the 2 dolls together.

Turn the doll inside out.

Put small bells or a rattle inside and stuff with kapok, cotton or sponge and sew shut.

Sew or draw on a face.

Animal rattles		Ball rattle
can be made in the same way.		Cut 3 pieces of one color...	...and 3 pieces of another color.	Sew them together except for a small hole. Turn inside out and stuff.

Push-along noise toy		Bamboo push-along
Make hole in lid and bottom of tin. Put bottle tops, small stones, etc. inside. Put loop of stiff wire through holes with knot inside tin.		Cut here

Games fitting pegs or blocks into holes

These games help develop better hand control and 'hand-eye coordination.' They also help the child learn to compare sizes, shapes, and color.

Drill holes in a piece of wood and cut pegs from tree branches.

Or make a 'size box' by pouring cement, plaster of Paris, or clay into a mold. Or, make a 'plaster' box out of cow-dung or mud mixed with sand (and lime if you have it). Press pegs into the wet plaster, and remove when
almost dry.

Or you can cut holes in a cardboard box. Glue an extra layer of tough cardboard on the top.

For pegs, use bottles, scraps of pipe, pieces of broom handles, bolts — or whatever you have.

Also, make games that help the child develop a twisting motion in her hands and wrists.

Other ideas

Blocks for building a tower on pegs	Shapes on pegs
Make it more fun by putting a face on the top block. Blocks can be cut from a thin log. Paint them bright colors.	With these, children learn about matching colors, shapes, and sizes.

Gourd Racing Car	Building blocks
beans as decoration pull string	made of wood, clay, or layers of cardboard.

This page was updated:05 Jan 2024