SCROUNGE: TOYS AND MATERIALS FROM HOME

Lesia Oesterreich, M.S.
Family Life Extension Specialist
Human Development and Family Studies
Iowa State University

Copyright/Access Information

You might be surprised at how many toys and materials can be found in your own home (or parents' homes), community businesses, garage sales, flea markets, or even the regular garbage! Understanding the idea behind a particular toy (what it teaches), taking inventory of ordinary material in your yard and home, and some creative thinking can save you money and space. Keep in mind that for children, a toy is anything fun to play with. The box may be a better toy than the shiny, expensive item inside.

Ideas for free materials from the community:

• Computer paper: Businesses and agencies will give it free and it can be used as drawing and craft paper.
  

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• Butcher paper or freezer wrap: Useful for finger painting, painting long murals by several children, and gift wrap. Merchants may charge a fee for it.
  

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• Paper rolls: Ends of newsprint can be obtained from most newspaper companies or paper companies. Merchants who use wrapping paper are a good source, too.
  

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• Wood scraps: Most lumberyards and some construction companies have scrap piles filled with odd materials that you sometimes can have for the asking. Plywood is difficult for children to work with. Woods such as white pine, cedar, or spruce are especially desirable for young children's woodworking.
  

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• Wallpaper books and color chips: These might be obtained from stores that sell paint, wallpaper, or floor coverings. Use for making collages, place mats, etc.
  

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• Display pictures: Grocery stores often will give away used pictures of food displays. Photography, sporting goods, and drug stores have interesting displays.
  

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• Film containers: Ask a local photographer about sources. Use them in sound games, for paste jars, to stack and count, etc.
  

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• Magazines and catalogs: Companies, clinics, and agencies often have magazines and catalogs that they will donate when they are outdated.
  

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• Carpet remnants or samples: Carpet and rug companies usually sell these at low cost. Use for sitting mats, floor coverings, and play.
  

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• Telephones: Telephone companies or telephone stores sometimes have junk phones to give away. They can be used for dramatic play as well as for taking apart to see how telephones work.
  

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• Steering wheels: Automobile wrecking companies may give extras away. Use in dramatic play.
  

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• Large cardboard ice cream containers: Obtain from ice cream stores and use for storage, as space helmets, waste paper baskets, or as individual storage bins for children's belongings.
  

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• Cardboard boxes: These are among the best of the free play equipment. A diagonally-cut cardboard box makes a good tabletop easel. Boxes can be stacked, rearranged, used as cities or costumes, or made into a play car or boat. Make a clothespin-drop or bean bag target using a sealed shoe box or cardboard carton with a hole or holes on top. Small boxes make good doll beds and can be used to store "kits" of materials that go together.
  
  Many such cartons, taped shut, become building blocks. Large crates from furniture and appliance stores stimulate creative outdoor play. They can make a playhouse, hospital, ambulance, moving van, store, or puppet theater. Holes large enough for children to crawl through can be cut on the sides of the carton for play. Most cardboard box activities provide excellent large muscle development play.

Materials from home

Here are some ideas for things around the house that you might wish to save and ways to use some of these materials.

Tips from Experienced Providers

"I always post a toy and book wish list on a bulletin board for parents. Sometimes their children have outgrown toys and they are just collecting dust at home. Other times they like to make a special gift to our program at holiday time. Parents want their children to have interesting things to do and it's amazing how often they come through when I really need another toy telephone or something."

"The best book that I've found for infants and toddlers is a photo album. The pages are heavy and don't tear easily. I insert photos of the children and magazine pictures of familiar items. Sometimes I can even add flat objects like a brightly colored leaf. Often one of the older children will draw a picture and want to add that to our book. I add that, too."

"I have about ten prop boxes that I keep for dramatic play. Each box has all sorts of props that children like to play with. My pizza prop box has a red checked table cloth, place mats, coupons, delivery boxes, an old pizza pan, and pretend money. Our 'delivery person' makes deliveries on a tricycle."

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