To satisfy this enormous curiosity, they need games, toys and other objects. Toys don’t have to be expensive and a room full of toys is not necessary. Too few toys, on the other hand, will not provide the mental nourishment a child needs.

Games or toys made at home are an excellent learning resource. You can develop your own ideas related to your child’s interests and abilities. Here are some examples:

An old handbag for make-believe. Fill it with old keys on a key chain, a hairbrush and a comb and a pocket flashlight, which is sealed against removal of the battery or lamp.

A cardboard box to help develop form perception. From the lid, cut out various simple shapes such as a square, circle and triangle. The child can place matching objects in the openings. This box is more than a container. When objects are dropped in the box, they disappear. The child can remove the lid and observe where the objects went. After several trials, the child will discover that a ball will go into the round hole while the cube will not.

Tin cans for nesting or stacking. Remove the lids from fruit, vegetable or juice cans. For safety, check the cans for sharp edges. Cover the outside of the cans with colorful adhesive paper. Now the child can build towers to demolish. Small cans can hide inside large ones. This type of play can help a child discover some of the mysteries of space relations like near and far, up and down.

A box of sand and basin of water for discovery. Give your child different-sized containers from which to pour either sand or water. By transferring sand or water from one location to another, a child learns the various properties of these substances. For instance, "Oops! The water that spilled on the ground just disappeared!"

Use an assortment of different-sized unbreakable containers and lids. Let the child attempt to place the appropriate lid on each container. For variety and challenge, change the containers.

Each of these activities provides your child with a new learning experience. New ideas, concepts and understanding of the world around us emerge from new experiences. They put a child’s enormous curiosity to good use. Best of all, these new learning experiences are fun.