Recently, I made my 4 and 6 year olds their own Inventor’s Boxes. I didn’t want my 2 year old to feel left out, but I also didn’t want to give him a bunch of tools and electronic components. I came up with this Inventor’s Box for Little Kids as a compromise. It’s really more of a craft box, but so far he’s had a lot of fun playing alongside the big kids. I just need to be sure to supervise my little one when he uses it (you know, to make sure he doesn’t try to eat any of the pieces or stick glue all over the furniture).
I made my 4 year old her own big kid inventor’s box, but really, I think she had just as much fun playing with this little kid version I made for her younger brother. She’s always encouraging him to play with his kit when she plays with hers, I think so she can talk him into lending her some of the more fun items, like fake jewels and glitter stars.
Recommended Age Range: Preschool, Kindergarten
Time Required: ~30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: As with the Inventor’s Box, the box itself is the biggest investment. I added items we already had lying around the house to a $10 box, but you could probably make one from scratch for around $25 (with a lot of supplies left over).
Materials, Supplies, and Tools:
(These are just some suggestions. Honestly, I don’t think my 2 year old cared much what I put in the box.)
- A box to keep everything in. (I used a child’s tackle box which was much smaller than I was expecting, but ended up being a good size for my toddler.)
- Craft sticks
- Kid scissors
- Pieces of flower foam and Styrofoam
- Lids of various sizes
- Metal frozen orange juice discs
- Clothespins
- Rubberbands
- Straws
- Stickers
- Clips
- Pipecleaners
- Craft jewels
- Glue stick
Instructions:
- Place everything in the box.
- If you want, you can use the Inventor’s Box label I made for my kids’ boxes. Cut it out and tape it to the lid.
Click here for more Homemade Fun activities for kids.
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Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 
Thanks so much for sharing all your hard work. Can’t wait to add the paleontology cards to our dinosaur cards. ( Which is much loved by my oldest. I absolutely will be making inventor boxes for my two boys as well. Just love the concept.
Hope you have a great day from the Du Grey Family in New Zealand
Aww, you’re so sweet. :) Thank you so much for the compliments. I’m glad you like what I do. Have a great day as well.