Child made toys

In the corner of our playroom is a box. This box is packed to the brim with toys. Toys made by Rebe in the past week. She spends very little time playing with actual toys. We have some gorgeous toys, many handmade and wooden and very beautiful to look at and to play with. But Rebe doesn't want to play with them, she would rather make her own.

*A unicorn*

This is what Rebe does from the moment she wakes until I put her into bed at night after her quiet time. She makes and makes and makes.

*A fairy peeping out of a box house. Rebe told me she caught this fairy in the garden and it wanted to live in this house filled with calendula petals.*

She very rarely plays with the toys once she has made them. They are often gifts, or she might have a quick play with them for a few moments before thinking of the next idea and dashing off to gather what she needs to make that.

*a cat*

"Children often spend so much time making their playthings that some observers might be tempted to ask, when will they actually start to play? It can be surprising to see that, after quite a short time of actual use - or even before completion- everything is dismantled, transformed, or rebuilt elsewhere. What the observer hasn't realised is that playing means simply being involved in the process, not necessary using a finished product." - Jaffke, F. Toymaking with Children

*a tiny puppy*

*a dragon sword (this is inspired by one of our current favourite books Molly Whuppie)*

*An adder sock puppet*

Rebe is often inspired by books, she pours over craft books and magazines for hours, getting inspiration for toys and other things to make. I love that she is so creative and I love that she makes presents for her friends and for people she hardly knows (and I always love the bemused look on people's faces when they receive one of her creations). I love that her best ever gift was a sellotape dispenser. I love that I have very little to recycle each week. I love that I have to sweep up snippets about 3848 times a day...not! (well I just let Joa eat them actually ;-))

*a church*

She also often 'needs' a specific prop for a game and will, without hesitating, go and make it. She loves making toys and I know this is probably a lot to do with her seeing her daddy and I making toys for them and things for ourselves. Hand work is just something we do in our family. It brings me untold pleasure and I love making things for my little people. I have seemed to slowed down an awful lot recently, probably because I am taking much more time for myself to walk and read and also more couple time with Andy.*Peter Pan, a much begged for 6th birthday present for Rebe*

But I am getting the odd hour in and am happily making toys just as my daughter does :-)