Create your own inventor's kit with items you already own

What we adults see as objects ready to toss into the recycling bin, our kids see as treasures fueling their innate creativity. It doesn't take much to build your own well-stocked inventor's kit, and once you establish this at home your child will keep coming back to see what new item has been added. The following list is an ideal assortment of materials for the budding inventor. If you have only a few of these items on hand it is still a great start and you can continue the habit of adding to it over time.

Favorite Items for a Homemade Inventor's Kit:

• a large box or basket to house the inventing materials

• an assortment of cardboard boxes in various sizes

• paper towel rolls

• washed plastic containers

• washed lids and bottle tops

• cotton balls

• string

• tape

• scissors

• glue

• tin foil

Children love the unstructured nature of inventing. Since there is no manual, no instructions to follow, it is very freeing for them to grab a few materials and see what they can come up with. If your child has trouble getting started, it helps to think small at the beginning. Maybe a bed for a favorite toy out of a cardboard tea box lined with cotton balls.

Or a working mini-elevator using the string as a pulley. Once they get started, the ideas will flow and your child will enjoy the chance to create something truly unique.