How to Learn Wooden Toy Making
Well-designed toys provide both learning opportunities and hours of entertainment for children. If you're having trouble finding just the right toy to make your child's playtime the best possible, you may want to consider handcrafting an original wooden toy. Toy making is economical and proves a memorable hobby for those who practice it. Additionally, a handcrafted toy will make for a cherished heirloom as your child ages. With the right instructional resources, you can learn wooden toy-making basics in a few hours.
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Things You'll Need
- "Making Toys That Teach" by Les Neufeld
- "Making Toys: Heirloom Toys to Make in Wood," by Sam Martin and Roger Schroeder
Instructions
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Consider boxed wooden construction sets. These prepackaged kits include all the necessary wooden pieces, materials and step-by-step instructions. Though this method will not teach you toy-making skills, it will give you a sense of how wooden toys are assembled. Additionally, the construction process is simplified and can often make for a memorable parent/child experience. Toy kits are available at hobby shops and through such online retailers as SourcingMap.com.
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Use online tutorials to get you started on basic toy cutouts and other beginner-level projects. Web sites like Make-Baby-Stuff.com provide designs and step-by-step directions for simple wooden toy making.
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Consult how-to books on the subject. Textual sources jump-start your learning with examples and professionally edited advice, and are often more intensive than simple Web site guides. Some good titles include "Making Toys: Heirloom Toys to Make in Wood," by Sam Martin and Roger Schroeder, and "Making Toys That Teach," by Les Neufeld. Nuefeld's book is especially compelling, since Amazon.com explains he holds a graduate degree in curriculum and instruction materials, giving Neufeld the expertise necessary to infuse educational components into each of his toy templates.
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