Daniel is hitting some kind of developmental milestone or growth spurt, or something. He’s waking at night more (always to eat) and he’s eating and sleeping a lot. He’s been fussy a little more than usual, which still means he’s not fussy much. I’ve been really busy, taking 2 classes at the law school, still working full time, and being Mommie, of course. Studying the tax code . . . I never thought I’d spend a summer doing that. But it’s not as painful as I thought it would be. We’ll see how I do on the exam, of course, but I think I still know what’s going on.
In my few moments of spare time, I’ve been pondering how to make baby and children’s toys using recycled materials from around the house. I am interested in this for Daniel’s benefit, of course, but I also have a client whose family is really stressed by their inability to entertain a 6-month-old and a 5-year-old. They don’t have many toys, and don’t have much money to get toys. I’ve also been reading a bit about Waldorf philosophy of childrearing, and it’s emphasis on handmade toys and toys made of natural materials. With all the recalls and scares about toxic plastic these days, I suspect homemade toys are probably safer. It just seems to me that it must be possible to entertain little folks with recycled stuff. I’m testing that with my own kid and googling quite a bit on the topic.
I’ve been hoarding plastic bottles, boxes from various things, and. I haven’t figured out exactly what I’m going to do with all these, but I’ve started on a few little projects. For instance, I picked up a couple of dowels and am trying to make some version of this:
I’ve started making blocks out of formula cans, paper towel and toilet tissue tubes, and jello, rice, and tea boxes. Obviously, Daniel doesn’t play with blocks yet, but I think this is a good project to teach to some of my low-income families. I’m also considering making this cardboard playhouse and using some adaptation of this project to make toyboxes. I’ve been looking for some ways to teach this mom to nurture her child’s growing interest in letters and reading. This project seems like one way that she might do that now, and that I might do this for Daniel later. If I had a source to get lumber scraps, I’d be all excited about making and painting these wooden blocks.
This is mostly a fun diversion, for now, since Daniel isn’t too into his toys yet and this mom isn’t on board for crafting much. I really should be giving the time to my tax code. But I’d really like to get her on board with crafting, and I really enjoy learning more about low-cost, green parenting.
POSTED BY EMILIE BROWN AT 10:34 AM
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