A Toy and Lots of Breakfasts for Under 5 Bucks

$5 doesn’t get you much these days but for less than a Lincoln, you can make a low-tech but totally engaging toy for your mini-me. This design is guaranteed# to become a favorite plaything for kids 12-18 months or so.

Here’s what you need:

Go get yourself a can of Quaker Oats…the old-school stuff in the cardboard can with the smiling Quaker dude ($2.99). Pick up a roll of silver contact paper ($1.99) at party store like iParty or an art supply store. And next time you’re at the doctor or pediatrician’s office waiting forever for the doc to show up, pocket a handful of the big wooden tongue depressors*.  Or better yet, get your wife to do it!  Of course, we at noodad.com don’t condone stealing but we’re ok if someone else does it for us!

Here’s how you make it:

Step 1 – Empty the Quaker Oats can and wipe it out with a damp cloth.

Step 2 – Wrap the can with the silver contact paper and cut out a circle of contact paper to cover the label on the lid.

Step 3 – Cut a 1.25 inches by 1/8 inch slot in the lid.

Step 4 - Plunk junior down in front of the thing and demonstrate putting a tongue depressor through the slot one time.

Step 5 – Sit back, watch the fun and appreciate that you just made your own battery-free, beep-free and lead-free educational toy for under 5 bucks.

Educational how? Figuring out how to put the tongue depressors through the slot teaches hand/eye coordination and fine motor skills. For real, an expert (i.e. my mother-in-law, who holds a degree in early childhood development) told me so! Consider it tee-ball for Xbox a couple of years down the road.

*Safety Note! Just keep an eye on the tongue-depressors for cracks or splinters. If you see any, well DUH, throw it out!

#[editor's note: noodad.com assumes no responsibility for the guarantees of reviewdad, his minions or that guy who sold him the Tostitos with hint-of-lime]