1 Learning Toy, 2 or More Ways to Learn
I have a toddler and a preschooler at home. And I’m always trying to maximize the use of the learning toys I create. Like this TP Roll Christmas Tree! I made one learning toy, but there are multiple ways to learn and play with it for kids of different ages.
How to make this TP Roll Christmas Tree
- Cut 3 TP rolls into 12 equal parts (~1 inch height each)
- Hot glue the 1 inch TP rolls onto a green cardstock paper/ cardboard. Arrange the TP rolls into the shape of a Christmas tree. There will be 1 roll in the first row, 2 rolls in the second row, 3 rolls in the third row and 4 rolls in the last row.
- Cut a little yellow star and paste it right at the top.
- Write 10 sight words on 10 different colored dot stickers. Look for 10 pom poms of matching colors to the dot stickers. If you do not have 10 different colors, feel free to repeat some of the colors.
- Paste each dot sticker in each hole and the learning toy is done!
For the young toddlers
My (then) 2yo did a color matching by dropping the pom poms into the holes with the same colors. Question to ask as the child picks a pom pom: “This is green and where is the hole with a green sticker?”
For the preschoolers
This same learning toy became a sight word matching game for my preschooler son! My son tosses a pom pom into one of the hole, reads the sight word in the hole and gives a dot sticker to the sight word. Game ends when a word gets 5 dot stickers or play as long as the child wish!
More ways to play!
- Toddlers can play the pom pom tossing game too! Look at what color the pom pom lands on and do a color graph instead.
- Write numbers on the dot stickers and invite your preschoolers to put the corresponding number of pom poms in each hole. (You will need mini pom poms for this one.)
- Use this in a Rice Sensory Bin. The little ones will have fun scooping rice into each hole.
For more DIY learning toys ideas, check out our #htsdiytoys hashtag on Instagram. Also find more ideas on our DIY Learning Toys Pinterest board! Happy making, learning and playing!
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