I keep a supply of nuts and a container of Sunsweet Ones (individually wrapped prunes) on my desk for grazing throughout the day. I know how this sounds, and to give you a balanced picture, let it also be known that I have been on a quest for the perfect hot dog and hamburger for quite a few years now. I like to balance working out with pigging out.
Anyway, I recently finished off the last prune and found myself staring at the empty canister, wondering what I could use it for. It had definite potential to be repurposed for something else… Robot part? Shaker? Drumstick holder? All viable uses. What about a look and find tube? Bingo! It would make a perfect look and find tube! Really, you can use any plastic container that you wish, such as a soda bottle.
I consulted with my wife about dying rice for the filler, sine she had recently died pasta for another project. I used her technique and it worked out great.
The tube held two cups of rice with a little room to spare, so I divided that into five ziploc bags, adding about a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and about four drops of food coloring to each bag. Then I let my daughter shake them to her heart’s content. We spread out the rice on a foil lined pan and left it out to dry while we played outside in the snow.
Later that day, I looked around for tiny items to hide in te tube. I thought about putting little miniature people and animals in it, but I didn’t want to have run out and purchase anything since I had already made everything else from what was readily available. My list of found treasures is below. I mixed them with the rice and dumped it all into the tube, using super-glued to seal it. I’d also recommend some packing tape on the lid. This is one toy we do not want to break in the car!
- Saxophone lapel pin
- Pink Pez
- Blue M&M
- Brown M&M
- Mini green M&M
- Flintstone vitamin
- Chalk
- Pistachio
- Cocoa dusted almond
- Broken red crayon
- Goldfish cracker
- Red bead
- Pair of googly eyes
- Pencil eraser
- Black pen cap
- Red paperclip
- Washer
- Drywall screw
- Penny
- Nickel
- Dime
- Match stick
- Yellow paperclip
- Hair clip
- Large nut
- Small nut
- Dog treat
- Pushpin
- Pen spring
- Tiny yellow hair band
- Blue gem
- Toothpick
When my kids get board of finding item from this lists I’ll cut open the container, throw in some different tiny treasures, and seal it back up in a new container. You can also take a picture of all the items so your kids can know exactly what they are searching for (I wish I would have thought of the BEFORE I sealed the lid).
I recently wrote about my experience learning to juggle. I hope it has inspired someone out there to give it a try. Please let me know if you do! I still have a lot I’d like to learn juggling three and four balls, but I’ve also become curious about juggling clubs, which are bigger and flashier. While I’m at it, I also want to learn how to unicycle, but I’m afraid that my family may get fed up with too many circus shenanigans at once.
Secret Dad Society 