Scarf Post Box

What you need

• a small cardboard box
• a wide kitchen-roll tube
• a scarf or a few socks
• tape

How to do it

1. Tape a wide kitchen-roll tube upright into a hole cut in the top of a small cardboard box, so it sticks up like a chimney.
2. Show your toddler a scarf feeding down the tube, a little at a time, until the end disappears inside.
3. Hand them a sock or the scarf and let them post it themselves, pushing it down with their fingers.
4. Open the box together to find everything they posted, then start over as many times as they like.

Why it matters

Feeding something soft into a tube and pushing it down takes two hands working together and a steady aim, the same control that later feeds a spoon into a mouth. The box came from this week's delivery, and this is where it goes before the recycling.

What they're learning

Hand-eye coordination

Guiding the end of a scarf into the tube's opening ties what they see to where their hand goes.

Cause and effect

Posting it up here and finding it in there when the box opens is a clear, repeatable result.

Focus & persistence

Feeding a whole scarf down bit by bit keeps them on one small task to the end.

What to look for

Watch for them using one hand to hold the tube steady while the other pushes the scarf down.

A tip

Only post soft things too big to fit in a mouth, like scarves and socks, and tape the tube on firmly so it does not lift out when they pull at it.

More like this

Whisk Air Bubbles from 18 months · 5-10 min Sticky Note Peel from 18 months · 5-10 min Water Painting from 22 months · 10-15 min Spoon Transfer from 18 months · 5-10 min