Most parents know that although kids like playing with toys, they love playing with non-toys. The actual TV remote rather than the bright plastic version you bought them. A wooden spoon and a soup pot, rather than the toy drum you thought they’d go nuts over. To this list, let us add: a colander, plus some pipe cleaners.
I don’t remember where I first saw this particular combo, but a quick Google search of “colander and pipe cleaner activity” illustrates that this is an idea that has been borrowed quite a few times. Throw the colander down on the floor (or the kitchen table if you want to get fancy), and give your kid something long and thin enough to stick through the holes. Pipe cleaners are particularly great because they can be easily bent and manipulated.
This little girl calls the activity “making spiders,” which makes the whole idea both effective and adorable:
In a pinch, you could also use any leftover plastic straws you have on hand from before we realised how terrible they are.
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