Collecting materials in the home and repurposing them for educational purposes can be rewarding and fun. You won’t need to buy toys for your little ones if you start to look at how you can turn recyclable materials into toys for your child. In this activity, I saved an empty bread crumb canister and cut a slit on the lid large enough for my child to put bottle/jar lids through it. This is a good exercise for older infants and toddlers as they get to practice hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. To make this more challenging, be sure to include items that will not fit through the slot.

Materials You Will Need:
-a canister (bread crumb canister, coffee canister, other canister with a soft lid that you can cut through)
-items that your child can put through the slot (jar lids, bottle lids, buttons, etc.)

Variation:
Using the same canister with the slot in its top, fill it with socks or scarves and encourage your child to pull out what’s inside. This activity is as fun for toddlers as pulling tissues out from the box!