Why I should buy stock in scotch (tape that is)

There's a great article on Wired.com by GeekDad Jonathan Liu about the 5 Best Toys of All Time.

While I wholeheartedly agree about the joy of sticks, boxes, twine and above all dirt -- there is a glaring omission from his most excellent article:

Tape. And lots of it. Case in point:

Claire's version of London Bridge. Constructed completely on her own in a quiet hour which I used to whip up a 30 minute Rachael Ray dish (really, don't these always take like 20 minutes longer than they should?).

The bridge hung on until this morning when her bouncing turtle finally shook it from the couch.

 

So I say hand over a roll of tape to your little one, see where it takes them! It's cheap, easy to clean up and there's probably a half dozen rolls stashed in your junk drawer as you're reading this. 

Messy bedhead hair is of course optional, but I feel it adds to the experience.

Homemade Art Materials Recipes

Ohdeedoh has a great round up of art materials that can be made at home. I posted this on my Facebook page but thought it worth mentioning here too - check it out!

How to Make Flubber, Glurch, and Other Fun Art Supplies At Home

I'm a big fan of homemade playdoh, we've had great luck with it and I often dye it with our liquid watercolors. Below is one of my favorite playdoh creations. On our last camping trip the kids gathered bits of grass and leaves and created little playdoh people. What fun!