Did you ever play that warm up game in drama class where you had to think of as many alternative uses as possible for a common household item? You know, where the teacher gives you a traffic cone and you can wear it as a hat, use it like a megaphone, or pretend it’s one half of Madonna’s bra? Well, we picked up some cranberry juice at Costco this week, and because it’s Costco, they came in bulk packs of two bottles held together with this little plastic doohickey.
(Oh, and please excuse my lawn in the following pictures. I know it needs a lot of work. I’ll get right on that. Next year maybe.)
Tee grabbed it and played with it all day. This kid wows me with her imagination and creativity. She started brainstorming all the ways she could use that little plastic prop in her creative play. Here’s a partial list:
Bubble wand – Tee did this for a large part of the day. She dipped it in a plastic sand pail and blew pretend bubbles.
Drum stick – Of course, she banged on the bottom of that sand pail for a while too!
Candle – She thought it looked like a candle on a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to me. (29! Again!)
Barbell – Here’s Tee showing off her big muscles from lifting weights just like Daddy.
Hair brush – She mimed brushing her hair with it.
Woosher (AKA: fly swatter) – Tee thought it would make a good “woosher”, and she proceeded to demonstrate how she would “woosh” the flies away.
Sunglasses – What a goofy kid she is! Here she is modeling her “Cheese!” face.
Rocket ship – She pretended to ride her miniature rocket ship to the moon.
Butterfly net – She also tried to catch butterflies in it, but I suspect the hole in the end made it a bit difficult.
Magnifying glass – And here’s Tee looking for clues with her magnifying glass! She said she found one, but I think it was just a plum from our tree.
This was a great activity to foster imagination and creativity, as well as a fantastic reminder to me of how magical everything is when you’re a kid and all you need to have fun is your imagination and a piece of plastic.
Share with me! What everyday things have your kids transformed into wonderful toys?
This post is linked up to some fantastic kid crafts and activities link parties. Check out my Link Parties page to see where I’m linking up and to find some wonderful blogs and more fun activities for kids!
I love it! First thing I thought of was the bubble maker before I looked further down. What a creative idea.
I was blown away by how many different uses she could think of beyond the bubble wand (though that one was her favourite!).
So fun!! It’s great to turn an everyday object into something of wonder. My kids do this with my kitchen utensils. It’s hilarious, they’ve made a paddleball type game with my wooden spoons.
Yep, my oldest is constantly stealing my spatulas. I have to look in her play kitchen when I want to make a stir fry. 🙂
My kids do things like this all the time. Nothing is ever looked at as it is.
Aren’t they amazing little beings? I wish we could keep that ability to see those possibilities into adulthood.
I do remember those exercises from drama class…fun! I love all the different ideas Tee came up with to play with the “plastic doohickey.” I will not look at the ‘plastic doohickey’ in the same way now if I buy juice from Costco. Thanks for sharing on Artsy Play Wednesday. I pinned it.