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Buttons, Zips and Press Studs: Learning to Dress Themselves Activity Cushion

Immy has an obsession with buckles, buttons and zippers. Whenever she sees a fastening on a bag or item of clothing she zones in and it keeps her fascinated for ages.

I know that you can buy toys for children that help them to learn to do up and undo fastenings but I decided to make one myself. Crazy really as I cannot even remember the last time I hand sewed anything. Using a store bought cushion cover, felt, embroidery thread and a variety of fastenings, this is the result.

teaching children to dress themselves activity cushion

The front features a butterfly with a zip up body and button on spots (the spots are partially attached so they don’t get lost) and a caterpillar who is double sided and attaches to his branch with velcro.

teaching children to dress themselves activity cushion
On the back it’s party-time with a lollipop (the stick is again a zip), a cupcake that clips into place with press studs and four lollies which velcro into place.

She loves playing with it but needs help at the moment to open and close the various fastenings which is great as it means she has plenty of time to grow into it and master it. As well as supporting her interest in how things fasten this will also help to develop her problem solving skills (working out how things work) and her fine motor skills (the physical skills of actually completing the fastenings).

I really enjoyed the planning and making process and take great pleasure in seeing her fascination with it. It has really motivated me to look for other ‘homemade’ toy projects which we can make at home. It certainly makes a nice change from the incessant bells, whistles and lights that the majority of commercial toys feature nowadays.

Feel free to share your homemade toy ideas. I would love to see what others are doing.

Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

Filed Under: Physical, Thinking & Reasoning Tagged With: fine motor

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Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. Amanda says

    May 28, 2009 at 5:40 AM

    Thats fantastic! You could make and sell those for sure.
  2. Mimsie says

    May 28, 2009 at 10:54 AM

    Way to go Christie. A steady income perhaps? May I make a comment about toys as told to me by my baby clinic sister over 50 years back? We spoke of children breaking toys and on occasion being chastised for doing so. She said that children were not always being destructive but in their young minds were actually constructing something different. Food for thought when little ones do break a toy although I know at times it can be deliberate.
  3. Förskoleburken says

    August 1, 2010 at 8:42 PM

    So creative and well done with both the design and the sewing! I'm impressed!
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