A Collapsible Doll House

One method of making toys, especially doll furniture, it to cover a piece of cardboard with fabric and sew the pieces together. The collapsible doll house was put together using this method. We live in a small apartment with very little room for a doll house.

This doll house can be kept in a large plastic bag and stored in a closet.

The walls  are attached to eachother using velcro tabs.

Click here for further explanations and illustrations

 

THE JINGLE-CHEER DOLLS

I was cleaning my closet and found some doll/puppets I made several years ago. These dolls have a purpose: to bring cheer--and fun-- to the recipient.

The dolls are about  12 inches high.  The arms and legs are made out of circular pieces of fabric, sewn at the edges , gathered and secured at the center. 

 Fabric is also used for the body and head of the doll.

On the back of the doll there are two loops for fingers. Underneath the two

loops is a pocket into which a piece of paper can be inserted.  Bells are sewn

on to the arms and legs of the doll. The doll becomes a hand puppet.

The idea is to  put a wish or a message of cheer for a person, and shake the

doll so the bells ring. It is like ringing the message for the person. I made several of these as birthday gifts.  Many of them were clowns.

I used the  Jingle Cheer concept to make some dolls/puppets for  a series of ten stories for children  collectively called 

The Willy-Silly Stories. (click for the story menu)

The stories are about three royal children who live in WillyNilly Land.  Prince Jay, Princess Kay and Princess Fay  live in a way we can recognize.  They visit SillyDilly Land where people live quite differently. The two royal children are 

Princess Peek-a-Boo, and Prince Hop-A-Lot.  The royal children do not wear crowns..

they wear green pigs.  The people of SillyDilly land wear boxes. 

I used the  Jingle Cheer concept to make the dolls/puppets for these stories.

 MATCH-UP

As an educator/librarian in the early childhood grades I learned the importance of

reading readiness skills. One of these skills is VISUAL DISCRIMINATION. Those who

sew, knit and/or crochet could make visual discrimination games using your skills.

1. Crocheting granny squares.

This is a matching game in which individual squares can be matched to a mat of

from 6 to 9 squares. Varying the combination of colors makes the game challenging and sharpens the child's ability to see detail. This is not only important for reading, but for math as well. (the most common math mistakes are "careless errors.") 

Several mats can be made with corresponding individual pieces. The reverse side of these mats could have something else: numbers, shapes,etc. The individual pieces could be put in a bag allowing the child to select randomly. (Children love to pick out

of a bag. You might find that they are spending a bit of time choosing.)

***

2. Quilting Matchup Games

People who have quilting skills can use the same principles in making the

visual discrimination game. The game can be very easy, to complex.

3. Pictures on paper Match up games

Pictures can be cut out of magazines or downloaded from the computer (google images). If a picture is printed out, it is best to use card stock paper. If regular
paper is used, back the pictures with poster board.  You could even opt for
a child to make several pictures, then color xerox two of each picture. Use one
of each for the board.  Have the others as individual pictures.

Teaching Toddlers Colors

 

This is more difficult. The colors are reversed. The game can

be used to teach both colors and shapes.

This  game is very advanced. Here, creative quilting can be utilized.

Dig It

A game using spelling , math and quick thinking skills

ages 8 and up

Click for the details of the game

AND DON'T FORGET-- THE ORIGINAL SCRABBLE GAME IS GREAT TOO.
BUY THE GAME AND YOU GET TWO GAMES IN ONE!

POOGIES

A game for ages 3 to adult

Skills learned include: memory, concentration, visual discrimination,
 and more.

Click here to see the many
ways POOGIES can be played.

Click here to see the many
ways POOGIES can be played.

  

Marvelous Marble Race

Learning can be fun... These marble games are fun, and educational.
The materials are readily available. It is not hard to make. 

( CLICK THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE)

CLICK for instructions regarding
the preparation of materials

CLICK for games

FACE IT

A social and emotional education game/activity

Children love playing with a felt board. In this game/activity, the children change the features of the faces on the board.  They start with faces with only noses.

 They then put felt features on the face.  Click here for directions