The Perfect Rainy Day Toy
Posted on April 25, 2009 - Filed Under Crafty, Fun, Kids | 2 Comments
It rained yesterday and it rained off and on all day today. While the boys were excited at first, that excitement quickly wore off when they realized that Mama wasn`t about to let them track mud in and out of the house every five seconds. I told them to stay out or come in and they chose to come in. But what do you do with two bored toddlers on a gloomy, rainy day?
We did some painting, then I made this fun Peek-a-Boo bottle. It`s super simple and they`ve been playing with it all afternoon!
You start with about two cups of plain, uncooked rice and pour it into a clean water or soda bottle that you`ve taken the label off of. Then you collect as many odds and ends as you can that will fit through the mouth of the bottle.
I used foam cars and bugs, a bunch of sequins, a bead, mini clothespin, a toothpaste tube cap and some other things I found lurking in drawers around the house. I took photos of the entire process, but then when I transfered them to the computer, they vanished. 
Including a week`s worth of cooking photos. (have I mentioned this is a really sucky week?) Sorry for the really, really lousy pics . . . I`m in one of those moods where I really can`t be bothered to take the same photos a billion times to get it right, so you, my loyal readers, get to suffer from my bad mood. 
Pour enough rice into the bottle to fill it halfway. Add your bits and fill with more rice until the bottle is about 3/4 full. Spread glue around the threads and screw the lid on tight. Give that sucker a few shakes and you have this:
Turn it a little or shake it a bit more and you get a whole new view!
The boys are absolutely fascinated by the constantly shifting rice and the things that come popping out. I recommend using some heavier items and some lighter, so they come out at different times. You can cram a lot of little toys and bits and grits from around the house into a water bottle!
Comments
2 Responses to “The Perfect Rainy Day Toy”
Talk to Me, People!
Just don’t add water. My kids experimented with rice and toys in a bottle for awhile. Then water and rice and a bottle, which is cool too, except if you leave the water and rice standing long enough to ferment, gases to expand, etc… then your hubby doesn’t listen when you say “my god – DO NOT OPEN IT! just throw it away…!!! “
That`s why I glued the lid down before giving it to the kids.
Though my fear was that Dante would just eat all the uncooked rice, which I hear can cause some serious problems.