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bag, sticks, scissors, clear tape

Bottle puppets: Use coloured bottles or paint over plain glass bottles with stained varnish. Old nail varnish come in handy.Dress up the bottles using cellophane, paper, sticks and buttons to create desired characters.

Shadow puppets: Outline your shadow puppet on cardboard. Cut out holes for the eyes. Use cellophane or a piece of plastic bag material to cover the holes and add colour to your puppet's eyes. Tape sticks firmly onto the back of the shadow puppets to hold them up.

E. Paper dolls and Barbies and Kens:

An alternative to shadow puppets would be making clothes and accessories for paper dolls and real dolls. You would be surprised that some of the male greatest designers started out as modest dress-my-sister's doll designers when they were kids.

Our mothers probably used to give us girls scraps of leftover cloth or old clothes to recycle the cloth and make our dolls new clothes with. It was my first step at clothes-making. When I was in my late teens, I sewed up my sister's hand-me-down pants which were far too long to hem up and popularised the peddle-pushers among my peers.

F. Make your own toys:

Challenge your boys to make their own toys from existing ones. My son enjoys putting two different Beadamon models together to create his own model.

G. Woodcraft Construction Kits:

Woodcraft is another fun activity for boys, great for those who cannot sit still at a cognitive activity for long. It is a great activity to sharpen their observation and fine psychomotor skills. Be on hand to guide younger children through, as certain assembling may need a steadier hand than that of the age stipulated.

As long as you have a brain, scissors, gum, nails, a hammer, a small saw, small items such as buttons, bottle caps and beads, paper and stationery, there are countless fun crafts to carry out on a rainy day.

H. Paper, coconut husk or shell and woodcraft boating:

This is a favorite among children who have few toys. Make a paper boat, a coconut husk or shell boat. Carve a boat out of discarded wood. When the monsoon drains or streams fill, lower your boats into the drains and streams and have a race. Be prepared to lose your boat in strong currents though you may tie a string to them.

As an adult, revive the child in you - play with your children. You will be surprised at your kids' creativity as well as yours.

Learn more about this author, Lokemun Magar.
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