I love making toys out of random things we have around the house. I also love repurposing the toys we do have, mixing up parts etc. Often some of the actual toys become much more fun when mixed with some of the non-toy items.
The other day it occurred to me that those little plastic balls from one of the little guy’s toys (that were spilled all over our living room floor) would fit perfectly inside the cups of my muffin tin. So while he was napping I ran around and collected them, plopped them in, and set it out and waited for him to get up from his nap. I couldn’t wait to see what he would do with it!
Immediately he was drawn to it and grabbed a couple of balls. Then a couple more. As he emptied the tin I would fill it back it back up. Although I didn’t set out with the idea of this becoming a game, I think Mr. C had other things in mind.
He would giggle when I shook it around on the floor and the balls would spin in their cups. Eventually he figured out the best way to use this “toy” was to dump the balls out and watch them roll in all different directions! He thought it was even funnier when Mom dumped the balls out so that they would all roll in his direction.
PS. I thought this would be great with ping pong balls (and they would probably bounce and roll more) but Mr. C is still putting everything in his mouth and I thought that the ping pong balls might be a little too risky. If you have an older child, say toddler age, I think they would find the ping pong balls combined with the muffin tin lots of fun! Have older kids try bouncing ping pong balls into the muffin cups. It makes for great entertainment.
So here’s what you need: (affiliate links)
- Muffin tin
- Soft plastic balls
Check out these other fun ideas for baby:
- Activities for 1 Year Olds
- Sensory Bin for Babies
- Homemade Baby Toy for Older Siblings to Make
