GAMES AND TOYS MADE FROM AVAILABLE MATERIALS

Unlike natural materials, which are free, factory-made toys, craft materials, and drawing supplies are not cheap. However, you don't have to break the bank!PART 1: PRODUCTS

1. Flour
Flour is pleasant to the touch; it is the main ingredient for salt dough and its many variations. 

Classic salt dough recipe for modeling:
-1 cup of flour, half a cup of water dyed with food coloring, half a cup of salt, and a tablespoon of sunflower oil. Mix everything thoroughly.

Flour also works well as a base for paints. 
Mix one cup of flour, one cup of salt, and half a cup of water. Pour into empty sauce bottles, add dye - and your "puffy" paints are ready.

Mix a pack of flour with a bottle of baby oil - you will get an interesting textured "cloud" dough.

2. Vegetable oil

An important ingredient for modeling dough. Vegetable oil plus water - a scientific experiment.

3. Salt
Salt is the basis for sensory bins.

You can draw with salt. Sprinkle salt on a painting done with watercolor paints. The salt will absorb the paints, and you'll get a masterpiece in a minute.

If you grind salt with colorful chalk in a mortar, you can fill bottles with colored salt. Colored salt is a great material for appliqué. 

Salt and ice, salt and water - a couple more simple science experiments. 

If you sprinkle salt on a tray and give a child a brush - you will have a happy artist developing fine motor skills and reinforcing writing skills.

4. Baking soda and vinegar

Baking soda and vinegar are needed for experiments. 
The basic idea: mix baking soda and vinegar and observe the reaction. 

You can put baking soda in balloons, and pour vinegar into a bottle. Put the balloon over the neck and carefully pour in the baking soda. The balloon will inflate.

5. Rice

Like salt - a base for sensory bottles and boxes, a material for appliqués and drawing. Rice is also used to fill beanbags.

6. Food coloring

Added to modeling dough, flour-based paints, baking soda, shaving cream.
Food coloring for dyeing water, colored ice, salt, sand. 

A dropper and food coloring - mixing colors, studying primary colors.

7. Pasta

For sensory bins, appliqués, as fillers for musical shakers, for bracelets and necklaces.

If you boil spaghetti, leaving half of it firm, you can draw with those bunches of spaghetti. 

Dye the pasta in different colors using food coloring and let the child sort them by color and size.

8. Jelly

Usually eaten at the end of the play experiment. Freeze some clean animal shapes in jelly. 

Use jelly powder for finger painting.

9. Starch

A basic ingredient for what is known as Newtonian fluid. Add a little water to the starch and stir. You will get a creamy liquid. From the starch mass, you can mold a ball, and if you leave it in your hand for a couple of seconds, it will all drip through your fingers.

Starch finger paints are cooked in a pot. Add water, a little baking soda, and mix. When the mixture cools - pour into bottles and add food coloring. The paints are edible and non-toxic for the little ones. 

If you mix water and food coloring with starch, you will get sidewalk paints with a smudged chalk effect.

10. Tea
You can paint with tea. Tea is a good filler for sensory bins.

11. Spices
You can also paint with spices if you get tired of paints. Spices in bags or jars - for developing the sense of smell. Kids love to play in the play kitchen with real spices. Add ginger or pepper to the salt dough for modeling.









PART 2: Beauty and Health

1. Liquid soap

Liquid soap is the basis for bubbles, for imaginary car washes, doll baths, dishwashing, and pretend laundry. 
Soap is used in water games, pour a basin of soapy water and give the children a whisk for beating egg whites or a sponge.
You can make paints based on soap: both finger paints and regular ones, for painting with sponges.

2. Shaving cream

Suitable for children over one year old who won't put the foam in their mouths. Games with shaving cream are varied. The texture of the foam is pleasant; children can play with it for hours. Add dye to the foam, and you'll get finger paints. Mix the foam with dyes and pour it into a palette - you will get drawings with an unusual texture. 
Shaving cream and starch contribute to sensory development. Write letters with chalk or a marker and ask the child to "trace" them with the foam.

3. Sponges and brushes

Inexpensive items for painting and water play. Cut silhouettes from sponges for washing dishes and stamp on paper. Cut colorful porous sponges into strips: "quiet" cubes for building.

4. Shampoos and hair gels

The basis for special developmental sensory "packages" and bottles for babies.

5. Cotton balls

Cotton balls are great for appliqués, crafts, and painting. Outside in the summer, moisten the painting balls in paints and throw them on paper. You get unusual pictures.

6. Cotton swabs

For crafts, counting, and painting. I use cotton swabs for dot painting, in the style of Australian aborigines. Perfect for painting on stones, twigs, and paper.

7. Band-aids

Band-aids are a cheap alternative to stickers and are great for developing fine motor skills. They are indispensable for playing hospital.









PART 3: Kitchen Utensils, Everything for the Home

1. Foil 
Foil is used to make toys, in crafts, as a substitute for paper when drawing. 

2. Muffin tins 
Used as containers, palettes for paints, in the sandbox, and when "cooking". 

3. Ice trays 
For mixing paints, freezing ice in unusual shapes, colored ice. 

4. Containers 
For storing toys, materials, and as sensory "basins". 

5. Spinning salad spinner 
I use it for painting. 

6. Tongs 
For developing fine motor skills. 

7. Sieve 
For water play, in the sandbox, with salt dough. 

8. Rolling pin 
Useful in the imaginary kitchen, for drawing patterns (printing), for salt dough play.

9. Funnels
For pouring, transferring, and water play.

10. Bolts and nuts 
For magnetic games, for crafts, for developing fine motor skills.

11. Wire 
I use it for crafts, beads, and bracelets.









 PART 4: Stationery

1. Paper 
Ideally, children should have a choice. Buy paper in rolls (white and brown), white office paper, cardboard, colored paper. 

2. Tape 
For 3D crafts from cardboard and other recyclable materials. 

3. Scissors 
Simple and patterned. 

4. Bubble wrap 
You can jump on it to pop the bubbles. It can be used for crafts, and you can also paint on it with paints, shaving cream, and shampoo. If you apply paint to paper with bubbles, press it against the paper, you get beautiful prints. 

5. Markers and magnetic board 
A universal "album" for drawing. 

6. Rubber bands 
Drawing by shooting rubber bands. Make a ball from colored rubber bands. Use for appliqués and crafts. 

7. Glue 
Glue can be used as intended - for crafts and appliqués, or as a base for unusual paints and sensory "slime" - as this "liquid" is called. To do this, mix starch (the one used for ironing shirts) and glue, add food coloring. 

8. Envelopes 
For developing writing skills, for playing postman. 

9. Wooden sticks - popsicle 
A material with huge possibilities. You can build houses, make dolls, appliqués, puzzles from sticks.

10. Felt 
For crafts, for embroidery, for sewing, for felt theater.

11. Toy eyes 
Very necessary for animating any of your crafts with children.

12. Stickers 
It's advisable to buy colorful circles.

13. Sticky cover 
I use sticky paper as a base for appliqués and paintings. When books tear - for their intended purpose, to fix them.

14. Glitter
A great way to decorate salt dough, water in the bath. For crafts, painting, sensory bottles.

15. Wool
Appliqués, crafts, painting.

16. Glass bottles
I use them as storage containers, for paints, for experiments.

17. Clothespins
For developing fine motor skills, preschool math.

18. Fly swatters
It turns out that you can paint well with fly swatters.

19. Chalk 
We draw with chalk on asphalt, on a black chalkboard, on black paper, on wet white paper. Crush the chalk and mix it with salt.