5.
AN INDOOR SANDBOX AKA THE SCOOP, SHOVEL, AND POUR KIT
Fill a large plastic storage box (28 gallons or larger) with: birdseed, sand, rice, packing peanuts, or dried beans. Add: colorful ladles, scoops, cups, funnels, spoons, shovels, pails, pitchers, plastic measuring cups, measuring spoons, pots and pans, pie tins, animals, cars, or anything with which to scoop, shovel, pour, and play in the "sandbox."6.
JUNGLE MASK KIT AND BOOK
Purchase IN THE JUNGLE by Benedicte Guettier, a great new board book in which a hole is cut out of the book so that when you open each page, there is a place to put a child's face to become a fuzzy bear, a crocodile, and more jungle animals. Next, gather the materials to make your own jungle faces: tag board (as big as you want, but at least 1 ft x 1 ft), scissors, markers, crayons, glue, feathers, ribbon, and anything else that can be used to decorate a mask. After your child opens the gift and you read the book together, show him or her how to make a jungle face by folding the tag board in half, cutting a half circle on one side, and opening it up to draw and decorate a jungle animal of your own. Think of other books and ways to make a project based on them--the sky's the limit!7.
AN EXPLORER KIT
Buy a colorful plastic bucket and fill it with tools for exploring the great outdoors: magnifying glass, tweezers, specimen jars, bags, etc. Add some inexpensive rubber boots in your child's size for exploring in the rain and mud too. Consider adding an "explorer hat," which could be an old or new hat of any kind, to complete this adventuresome kit.
8.
BATHTIME FUN
Collect bathtime items and toys and put them in a mesh bag: fun soaps, shaving cream, and a shaver without a blade for pretending in the tub, goggles or a diving mask to wash hair tear-free, a doll with hair to shampoo, bubbles to blow, boats, sponges, and of course, a rubber ducky or two.9.
PLAY DOUGH KIT
Make your own superior play dough with the easy recipe below, then locate some tools that your child can use to mold, cut, shape, and play with the dough: a small rolling pin (you an make one by cutting a 1" diameter dowel to a length of about 7" and sanding the edges), colorful plastic (not sharp) cookie cutters, a wooden mallet, a dull pie-fluting tool, straws, plastic hair rollers, garlic press, etc.
SUPERIOR PLAY DOUGH RECIPE
Ingredients:2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons oil
Food coloring
Directions:
• Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar.
• Add food coloring to boiling water and mix with oil.
• Combine the flour mixture and the water mixture.
• Knead the dough until it cools.
• Store in a covered airtight container or zip-lock bag.
10.
