Skip to main content
FamilyEducation
FamilyEducation
Family Education

FE-Menu

  • Pregnancy
    • <blank>
      • Pregnancy Tracker
      • Trying to Conceive
      • Signs & Symptoms
      • Pregnancy Health
    • <blank>
      • Baby Names
      • High Risk Pregnancies
      • Preparing for Baby
    • <blank>
      • Concerns & Complications
      • Labor & Delivery
      • Postpartum
  • Baby Names
    • <blank>
      • Browse All Baby Names (A-Z)
      • Top Names for Boys
      • Top Names for Girls
      • Baby Name Generator
    • <blank>
      • Baby Name Lists & Ideas
      • First Names By Origin
      • Browse All Last Names (A-Z)
      • Last Names by Origin
  • Babies
    • <blank>
      • Caring For Your Baby
      • Baby's Health
      • Feeding Your Baby
    • <blank>
      • Your Baby and Sleep
      • Baby's Growth & Development
      • Baby Hygiene
    • <blank>
      • Baby Safety
      • Baby Products
    • <blank>
  • Toddlers
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Growth and Development
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Behavior and Discipline
    • <blank>
      • Your Toddler and Sleep
  • Kids
    • <blank>
      • Health
      • Childhood Development
      • Fitness & Nutrition
      • Childhood Safety
    • <blank>
      • Communicating with Your Kids
      • Childhood Behavior and Discipline
      • Fostering Responsibility
      • Instilling Values & Manners
    • <blank>
      • Childcare
      • Neurodiversity in Kids
      • Adopting Children
  • Teens
    • <blank>
      • Teen Health
      • Teen Puberty & Sex
    • <blank>
      • Behavior & Discipline
      • Teen Social Development
    • <blank>
      • Values & Responsibilities
  • Activities
    • <blank>
      • Printables
      • Indoor Activities
      • Learning Activities
      • Arts and Crafts
      • Performing Arts
      • Food Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
    • <blank>
      • Books
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Online
      • Quizzes
      • Games
      • Celebrities
    • <blank>
      • Parties
      • Travel
      • Toys
      • Holidays
      • Gifts
  • Learning
    • <blank>
      • By Grade
      • By Subject
      • College
      • Preschool
    • <blank>
      • Back to School
      • Study Skills
      • Learning Styles
    • <blank>
      • Homeschooling
      • Parental Involvement
      • Your Child's School
  • Family Life
    • <blank>
      • Mom Life
      • Dad Life
      • Family Relationships
      • Having a Healthy Marriage
      • Divorce
    • <blank>
      • Health & Fitness
      • COVID Resources
      • Managing Your Home
      • Moving Your Family
      • Pets
    • <blank>
      • Family Finances
      • Work
      • Families and Food
  • NewslettersNewsletters
    Newsletters

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Entertainment and Activities
  3. Arts and Crafts
  4. Making Puzzles, Toys, And Games

Making Puzzles, Toys, and Games

Make puzzles, toys, and games for your kids with these excellent and easy ideas.
  • facebook share icon
  • pin
  • twitter share icon
  • email share icon
  • Print page icon

Making Puzzles, Toys, and Games

Puzzles are not only fun to make and to solve, they also make kids think, improve manual dexterity, and teach patience and tenacity. The following puzzle has probably the least number of materials of all – only two 60 penny nails.

Project: Nail Puzzle

There are many more ideas for making toys, games, and puzzles out of everyday objects such as wood, yarn, fabric, or just about anything you can think of. Here's a list of quick ideas:

  • Make a set of beanbags out of fabric (felt works well) and beans. Make the beanbags approximately the same weight and size. Use them for a beanbag toss game, or learn to juggle with them.

  • Make stuffed toys out of paper, newspaper, and a stapler. Cut two sheets of paper together in a shape. Decorate the back side of one piece and the front side of the other. Staple together with colored sides facing out, leaving a hole to stuff crumpled newspapers in. Fill and staple the rest up. (You can use paper towels or tissue instead of newspapers if that's what you have on hand.)

  • Small yarn dolls make adorable Christmas tree or package ornaments. Use straw-colored yarn to make cute scarecrows for Thanksgiving or Halloween. Use white yarn, add a lace skirt and white lace gathered and tacked on the back, and you have an angel.

  • Make a yarn doll. Wind yarn loosely around your hand. Tie at the top to secure the yarn bundle. Put a cotton ball or small Styrofoam ball at the top under the yarn. Tie under the neck. Cut open the bottom yarn and divide the yarn into legs and arms. Cut at the appropriate length or let the bottom hang loose for a skirt. You can glue on felt or fabric clothes, hats, or cutouts for features.

  • Make a parachute out of a square piece of cloth, some string, and a clothespin "aviator." Attach the string to the head of the aviator with a screw eye. Weight the aviator by wrapping copper wire around her.

  • Clothespins (the old-fashioned kind, without the spring) make great dolls. The top of the clothespin is a natural head, a pipe cleaner makes the arms, and you can use yarn for hair, fabric scraps for clothes, and decorate with ribbons and trims. Features can be applied with fine pens.

  • Thimbles can be used as finger puppets. Just glue on felt for features.

  • Whole peanuts can be made into marionettes. Use a large peanut for the body, a smaller one for the head, and longer-shaped ones for the arms and legs. Run a needle and thread (the needle must be longer than the longest peanut) through one leg, up through the body, and then through the head. Leave a string at the top of the head and clip. Do the same for the other leg. Do the arms from one arm to the other and through the body. Add felt hands and feet, and use felt-tip pens to make a face. Then make your marionette dance.

  • Create a pinwheel out of a square piece of paper, markers, rubber stamps and/or stickers, a pencil (with eraser), scissors, a straight pin, a small piece of clay, and a ruler.

  • Have your child draw, stamp and/or sticker one side of the paper. On the plain side, put a dot in the center and draw a line from each corner to 1/2-inch from the dot. Cut along each line and fold each corner to the center without creasing, holding them in place at the center. Put the pencil's eraser behind the pinwheel and push the straight pin through. If it comes out the other side, cover it with clay. These can be decorated in different colors to match a particular holiday – red, white, and blue for the 4th of July, for example.

Clothespin Aviator.
This is what your Clothespin Aviator should look like.

 

What's hot

  • mom giving kids valentines day gifts Entertainment and Activities6 Last-Minute Valentine'…
  • 14 Fun Activities for Winter Break Entertainment and Activities14 Fun Activities for Winter…
  • Valentine's Games_Featured Entertainment and Activities14 Valentine's Day Games…
  • 15 Fun Water Games Entertainment and Activities20 Fun Water Games to Play…
NewslettersNewsletters
Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.
Family Education
FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found here.

FE Footer

  • Newsletter Center
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Editorial Team
  • Expert Panel
  • Cookie Policy
  • Site Map
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info (for CA Residents)
sandbox learning logo
Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. 

factmonster logoinfoplease logoTeacherVision logo

sandbbox logo
©2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company.