DIY Toys: The Sunday Paper

When my son was an infant he never wanted to be put down.  I think it's a pretty common challenge parents face and so I hope you can relate!  Reading the Sunday sales ads and clipping coupons are important to saving on groceries and household supplies in our family.  My son sat with me while I read the ads and we talked about the pictures.  Colorful, shiny sales ads are fascinating for babies.  I'd say that just like it is never too early to start reading to your children, it is never too early to start this activity with your little one.

Here's my little guy at 14 months enjoying the Sunday paper.  If I find more pictures I'll be sure to add them!

At 18 months we now use this opportunity to practice vocabulary and it is a great tool for eliciting language.  My son points to and labels objects, and I ask him questions like, "where is the blue shoe?" and "how many dogs do you see?"  Many times he asks me "what's that?"

Here are some of the things we talk about.

Pet Stores - These have lots of animals!  We look for dogs, cats, sometimes birds and fish. We talk about the sounds they make.

Drug Stores and Dollar Stores - Because they usually highlight seasonal items, this is a good opportunity to talk about holidays and weather.  With Easter just around the corner we have been spotting lots of bunnies!

Supermarkets - We talk about food, of course!  Pictures of produce, meat, and bread are the most recognizable.  Prepackaged food is more difficult to identify but we try.

Sporting Goods Stores - My son loves shoes and boots so he gets pretty excited about these ads.  We count shoes and talk about what color they are.  He also likes playing with balls so he loves to see pictures of basketballs and soccer balls.

Big Box and Department Stores - These are a little more difficult, but we do point out the things he loves like babies and toys.  Sometimes in the ads for kids clothes and toys we will spot a character he knows like Elmo or Pooh.  These are also good for learning the names of types of clothing.

It isn't all educational!  Eventually we get to the point when it is more fun to wad up the papers, tear them, and listen to them crinkle under his feet while he stomps on them.  Today he got it in his head that he wanted to hide.  He would lay down and ask me to cover him, then throw off the paper and yell "boo!"  What a goofball!