Guest Author - Diane Claus

Preschoolers are energetic and creative yet many do not get a chance to use their natural curiosity as much as they should. We all know that TV is a passive activity but did you know that many of the popular toys on the market do not encourage imagination and creativity? I will show you haw to make a preschool invention box for a fun alternative to watching TV.

Components of an invention box should include inexpensive and easy to replace items such as

Pipe Cleaners
Masking Tape
Scotch Tape
Toilet Paper Rolls
Paper Towel Rolls
Small boxes
Larger boxes cut up to make smaller flat pieces (I highly recommend a cereal box or an empty Kleenex box).
Sheets of construction paper (NOT scrap paper)

Of course your preschooler will need tools to invent with
Scissors
Hole Puncher
Crayons

Of course this is just a starter list, you can add whatever your child is interested in.

Many preschoolers may need your help to learn how to create basic things. I do not recommend sitting your child down and explaining the concepts of how to make “X”. Rather try just sitting down with your child and start creating with the invention kit. When you hit on something that your child likes she will try and imitate you and will go through the motions of creating her own version.

To give you starting point you can try one of these ideas

How to Make a Hinge

Method 1
You will need:
Two pieces of the cut up box
Pipe cleaners
Hole Puncher

About half an inch from the top and again half an inch from the bottom punch a hole in one side of a piece of a box.
Repeat on another piece of box.
Put one piece on top of the other so the holes are near each other
Thread the pipe cleaner through one of the holes. Twist around each other and trim off excess.
Repeat on the other hole

Method 2
You will need:
Two pieces of the cut up box
Tape

Lay the pieces flat on a table with two edges touching.
At the top and again at the bottom, take a piece of tape and tape the two pieces together.
Carefully turn both pieces over.
Repeat taping in about the same spot.

I want to stress that perfection is not needed and you should not strive to make your projects near perfect. The invention box is about using the imagination. Mistakes are an important part of the invention box; let your child see that you had to try something a different way because the first time it didn’t work like you wanted.

In a short period of time your child will be able to make their own inventions with very little help.