What is posting?
Posting refers to the activity where children drop different kinds of objects into containers through a narrow opening. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers all love this activity and the challenges that come with it.
Why posting?
Posting is a great activity for your child because it not only develops their hand-eye coordination but also their fine motor skills. For example, when my son was 9 months old would engage in this kind activity for about 10 minutes. He loved dropping pom-poms into a formula canister whose lid I pierced. For his first birthday, I made him a posting activity using popsicle sticks and a small cardboard container. He is now 3 and a half years old, and he still loves posting cards, balls, sticks, marbles into a variety of boxes and bottles.
Making a posting birthday box
This type of posting box is ideal for children who are 1 and 2 years old. I happened to make this one for the daughter of one of my husbands’ colleagues. She turned one and I thought that a posting box would be a perfect first gift. It was a hit!
Materials
What you would need:
- A large gift box the size of a shoe box
- A clear water bottle
- Contact paper
- Printed image of a cake and balloons size letter or A4
- 10 pom-poms around 50 mm or 2 inches in diameter
- 12 wine corks
- A pack of playing cards
- 6 wooden dolly pegs of different colors
- 15 Interlocking Plastic Discs
- 15 Jumbo Pop-sticks
- 10 Baby Food Pouch Caps or other small caps
- 5 zip bags
How to make it?
- Print an interesting and appropriate image. I personally used that of a birthday cake I found online.
- Use the contact paper to paste it to the top of the lid of the box.
- Using a carving knife (or other sharp tool), cut two slots on the lid of the cardboard box. One to post corks, pom-pom, and pouch caps, another to post cards and the interlocking discs.
- Put the corks, lids, pompoms, playing cards, and interlocking disks into separate zip bags.
- Put the rest of the elements into the plastic bottle.
- Finally place all the bags and the bottle into the box.
- Voila! You can now wrap-up the present.
