Child's Play

Rating:
Summary: Instant fun for preschoolers
Review: This book brought back a lot of great memories but also presented some really fresh ideas for quick and easy projects that your preschooler can do with just a little help from you. Some of the ideas, especially in the paper project section, are great "fillers" for when you need to keep your child entertained for a short time (in a restaurant or waiting room, or between activities at home). Other projects suggested in the book have kept my children busy for hours and have also gotten them thinking about new ideas! For my school age child, the Child's Play 6-12 by the same author has been a real favorite. This book is a lifesaver. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate Bad Hair Day....
Review: Youch! I see that a reader (or non-reader, I guess) gave my little book a one-star rating. Want to know what a one-star rating on Amazon.com feels like? It's like having a really, really Bad Hair Day, and sneaking off to the world's biggest grocery store for a gallon of milk, and meeting EVERYONE YOU KNOW. Ah well. Not everyone's a fan, but may I say, I think this reader missed the point of the book. This is a simple little book filled with very, very simple projects for preschoolers. Yes, it's got paper airplanes and stringing macaroni. It's also got tracing, and play dough, and cooking projects, and games and easy costumes and more. Some of the projects will jog your memory from when you were a kid. Other projects will inspire you to take the raw materials and try something new. The projects are quick (twenty minutes or less), easy (so your child succeeds no matter what), and open-ended. That way, you can simplify the craft for your 2-year old, while your 5-year old can often manage the projects on his/her own, developing new and fancy ideas along the way. The book suggests the basics, and your child's imagination makes the ideas come to life. Simple, yes. Boring, no.