I am no finish wood worker but I figured this would be an appropriate set of toys for my grandson who will be 2 y/o next week. I took a bunch of my small cut offs and scrap pieces of wood and made cubes, 2"X4"X2", and 1"X4" X 1" blocks, 1"X1" strips 4-12 inches long, triangles, wooden circles with my hole saw, half inch dowel pieces of assorted lengths for axles and flag poles, etc. I bore half inch holes in the rounds and several other pieces at random. I sanded them just enough to knock most of the rough off and clean up some of the dirty pieces. I made a small crate to keep them in. I figure this ought to be something to keep a 2 year old busy stacking and arranging. Its simple, no real expense and should let him be creative.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/38064/IMG_1052.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1544028966)
A full crate of assorted pieces
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Squares, cubes, triangles, circles, strips, rods, cutouts, etc.ed
It would also be age appropriate for me! :)
My only recommendation is to make sure that you don't have any small parts that he can choke on.
Looks like some fun is in the future for the two of you.
I had some store bought wooden blocks. All different colors and shapes. I still remember them things. Good job.
Ah Ha, you made them for yourself. You're just gonna let him play with you. 8)
Quote from: Dan_Shade on December 05, 2018, 12:29:09 PM
My only recommendation is to make sure that you don't have any small parts that he can choke on.
Looks like some fun is in the future for the two of you.
Dan,
The smallest piece in the bunch is probably a 1/2" dowel about 5" long that was left over. Nothing sharp and nothing small enough they can choke on it. They look perfect to fit a small hand. Nothing heavy.
Nothing measured in the bunch. Slap a thick board on the tablesaw and slide the fence over to make it that wide, rip it then use the rip fence as a guide to cut cubes. Assorted lengths for the dowels and sticks which are just cut up stickers. The rounds were made with the hole saw on a drill. I only had one size but if I had a hole saw set I could have made circles inside of circles. Sanding took the longest and if I'd planed it before I could have avoided a lot of that.
I may make up a crate or two and take to the flea market and sell next summer or take to my consignment place. It is a great way to use up your small scraps because you can make something out of all of them.
I figure we will have a lot of fun with them. heck, I already had fun just making them and thinking how much he'd enjoy them.
Add-on
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/38064/IMG_1055.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1544038401)
Here is a picture with more details of every item. 1X6X6, 2X4X4, 1X1X assorted lengths, 1"X4"X4", 2X4X4 cutout, cutout (circles), triangles, 1/2" dowels assorted lengths, 2"X2"X2" cubes/blocks, 3"X3"X3" cubes/blocks, crate from a lightweight spruce 1"X8"X12" with poplar 16"X 3/8"X 2" slats for bottom and sides so inside box is 12"X14"X8". Some random 1/2" holes in the rounds and other various pieces for good measure.
From what I've read, if it fits in the end of a toilet paper roll, it's too small and is a choke hazard. I'd remove those small dowels for sure. They can go up the nose, or in the eye.
His mom, my daughter, works at a children's hospital as a child life specialist and is super sensitive about anything that could remotely be a hazard so rest assured nothing risky will ever get to him.
BTW - I could not get one of those half inch dowels up my nose (Not that I have tried yet :D). I would not advise any smaller than that but it would take a lot to get hurt with anything in this mix.
I'd appreciate the result of your daughter's evaluation. My 3yr old Grandson is starting to stack blocks in my shop. Thanks.
Will do. The smallest thing in the kit is the half inch dowels. I could not get one of them up my nose so I am confident they are safe (or I would not have included them to begin with) but we will get the expert evaluation next weekend when they come up. I would not include them under 5-6 inches long but these look good to me.
I remember when we were kids we had tinker toys which were just a bunch of 2" wooden circles with holes drilled in the middles and along the edges and a bunch of 1/4" dowels to connect them all kinds of ways. I guess they would not be allowed for kids today.
The blocks/cubes are about the easiest to make with just a table saw and a rip fence to cut them all the same size on all sides. Knock the rough and dirt off on a sander and they are ready to go. You could paint them or put letter on them but then you introduce more risks of various poisons and carcinogens. I figure a toddler can stack an unpainted block as easy as a fancy painted one. For different colors make them out of different woods.
I may make up another box or two of these next summer and take to the flea markets with me. I'd bet nostalgic grandparents would be more likely to buy them than the parents. :D
Okay update time. Today is Quinn's birthday and he is en route from Charlotte NC. Tomorrow we will have his combo birthday and Christmas party with his older cousins, aunt, uncle, pseudo aunt and MawMaw (My sons other grandparents think of Quinn as their grandson too just like we do their other granddaughter). His gift is wrapped and under the tree. We will see if he waits till tomorrow to get into everything.
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As you can see we go all out on the Christmas tree around here.
Great gift! Good job.
Look forward to hearing if anything is culled out.
Okay, today Quinn got to open his box of blocks along with all the other toys he got. His mom inspected them and nothing got culled. She said they were all big enough and long enough not to be a hazard. They all seem to be the right size to fit his hands okay. I did have to take the half inch dowel pieces out to the shop and hit each end briefly on the sander to bevel them down just a little so he can get them to fit in the half inch holes I had augered in. They were too tight a fit as they were.
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Had to start taking them out one at a time before he finished unwrapping the box.
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They make great drumsticks too.
Home Run! Way to go grand dad!
Sam,
The funny thing I noticed was that while Quinn was tied up opening his other gifts I saw our 15 y/o guest (my granddaughter's first cousin from the other side of their family) got over and started playing with the set of blocks. I guess they transcend the various age brackets.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/38064/IMG_1087.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1544925730)
If i was there I would want to play with those blocks!
School Supplies, Classrooms & Teaching Store | Discount School Supply® (https://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Mobile/ProductDetail.aspx?domainredirect=true&product=3462) how about even more natural
I betcha she had some growing up.
WV, good idea for a present. This is one that you can add pieces and complexity to over the years.
Several years ago, I gave my youngest daughter a bunch of wooden pieces to "build" with. She made horse fences and stables - her creations would cover the entire living room for weeks at a time. Last week my girls and I were sitting around talking about what would be a good gift for our first grand child (hopefully will be born later today) and my 20 year old daughter suggested that the youngest, now 14, give him her box of building wood. She protested and said she would not part with them and even wanted more.
I will probably make him some when he is old enough to use them. Toys should be entertaining but also should teach and inspire thought. It is good to see families enjoying each other's company in stead of all sitting in the same room staring into cellular phones.
Cavey,
I hope everything goes well with that new grandbaby. Quinn is due to get a baby sister in about 2.5-3 months. He was a miracle baby and his upcoming sister more so but all went well with Quinn and seems so with the new baby. We are on pins and needles as I know you all are.
The blocks were a lot of fun to make. I don't know who will have had the most enjoyment out of them - me or Quinn. Now I know what to do with all my little cut off and scrap pieces. There is nothing easier to make. There sure won't be much left for the fire pile.
I am not surprised that the older child is playing with them. I Would too! They allow and foster imagination and creativity!
WV, Baby Tennyson arrived a little after 3 p.m. today. Baby, new mama and new daddy are doing well. I hope to be making wooden toys for him soon.
Good luck on the next grand.
Cavey,
Well the biggest kind of FF congratulations to you and the whole family. I know you are all pleased and excited. Now you can get busy spoiling training him real soon.
Caveman,
Congratulations on the new arrival! He'll be on your Forestry team before you know it!
I made a pretty good number of 2 1/4" blocks for my Grandsons last year, and all I heard was they need MORE BLOCKS!
Now make him an assortment of additional sizes and shapes to go along with them. All shapes are fair game. Square up pieces of 1X4, 2X4, 1" stickers of assorted lengths, then cut some triangles, etc. Maybe a few wedges. Anything that will fit his little hand works great.
If I had a scroll saw I'd cut a bunch of 1X4s into zig zags and throw them in the pile for him to put together like puzzle pieces. I guess I could do it with a jig saw.
This looks like an excellent use for nearly all your cut offs and short or odd sized pieces.
The kids can use them to learn shapes, balance, colors, etc and they can create more things than we can ever think of.
My great nephew just turned 3, he loves farm animals and equipment. My brother-in-law (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/IMG_1896.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1545628526)
(his grandpa) calls him Buck as a nick name. We got him some coral fence and made him a gate, He loved it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/IMG_1907.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1545628809)
. Note the engraved cattle guard at the gate. I also engraved 66 one inch round pictures of a cowpie. And a good time was had by all!
Doc,
That's neat and personal. Just shows how simple things can be so much fun. That's real pretty woodburning and routing.
I keep thinking how simple it would be to make wooden puzzles with a scroll saw. Just paint or glue a scene on a bunch of thin soft boards and then cut then into small pieces using totally random cuts with waves, odd angles, etc. Throw them in a box let the kids figure it out.
I read somewhere a group of scientists took about 25 laptop computers and dumped them into an African village where nobody spoke or read English. They said within 5 minutes someone had figured how to turn the laptop on. They left them with them and came back several months later and they were speaking rudimentary English from a program on the computer. I don't remember how they addressed the battery power issue so the computers could still work. They must have had some recharging system. I don't know if they showed the folks how or left them hooked up to a permanent power system. The bottom line is give a kid the tools and they can do anything.