We presented “Re-purposing for Playtime” at the Vancouver Island Baby Fair mainstage this weekend. We hopped on one foot, ran with checker pieces between our knees and jumped up and down holding a muffin tin. All for the love of re-purposing.
This is the first blog post in a series about ways to incorporate 50 common household items into play.
Today, it’s all about painter’s tape:
– Over, under, around. Tables, chairs, couches. Then, bring on the hot wheels cars!
– Start with a circle. End with a hexagon. Create shapes big enough to stand in on your carpet (or driveway) and On your mark, get set… octagon! A fun way for toddlers to learn shapes.
– As we move into fall, play indoor hopscotch.
– Pop the tape into your glove compartment or backpack and set up anobstacle course anywhere. If the tape balance beam, two-foot circle hop and go-backwards zig zag are too easy for you, try it with your arms taped to your sides.- Create a life-sized board game in one room or all around your home (and you become the play pieces). Use a die and work on counting. Brainstorm together on unexpected pit stops.
– A must for any spy or police kit. Tape off the crime scene and outline
the evidence.
– Play house (in either life-size or doll-size) with a taped floor plan. Walls, chairs and even stylish pillows come to life with the sticky stuff.- A tape cast is the answer for anything from a stuffie sprain to a full-body doll cast. Add it to your pint-sized doctor’s kit.
Anything to add to this list? We’d love to hear from you! Please post your ideas (and/or the ideas of your kids) and we’ll add them to our list.
Next stop? vent covers.
