$5 in a second hand shop goes a long, long way. As a school holiday activity, my sister and I allowed our children to explore a second hand shop for items to create a cubby-house.
Talk about excitment central. It was like a great big treasure hunt.
Great cubby-potential items we were looking out for:
- mosquito net
- pots
- utensils
- plastic plates
- foldable child seats
- basket
- bell (for a secret call)
- ribbons
- blankets
- old phone
- cushion
- ropes
- pieces of wood
- tarpaulin
- cutlery
Children are incredibly resourceful and imaginative and I love to see how they use things. One of my daughters found a retro telephone directory (pictured) to keep special codes in.
Such a fun project that kept the older school children entertain and engaged for days!
This activity combines the outdoors, creativity, ingenuity, construction and environmentally friendly play. Can’t get much better than that.
Note: This activity is suited to older school aged children. Be wary of broken and dangerous items.
49 Comments
BookChook
July 15, 2010 at 7:33 amAll that great learning you mentioned, PLUS learning how to budget with $5! Real life Maths lesson with no pain, just fun. I love it!
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 16, 2010 at 1:15 pmYES! Great input here BC… as always.
Tweets that mention OP Shop Cubby : Be A Fun Mum -- Topsy.com
July 15, 2010 at 11:46 am[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Be A Fun Mum, Be A Fun Mum. Be A Fun Mum said: New Post: Op Shop Cubby http://beafunmum.com/2010/07/op-shop-cubby/ http://fb.me/D4NPMAXo […]
Stacie
July 15, 2010 at 1:26 pmThanks for visiting me at The Amazing Mess!! It always makes my day when someone leaves me a comment!
This is such a fun idea — I didn’t know what an OP shop was — but I figured it out later on! I’ll have to take mine little ones to a garage sale and see what they come up with!
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 16, 2010 at 1:16 pmOur kids thought it was absolutely wonderful!
Stacie
July 15, 2010 at 1:28 pmOops! I meant “my little ones”.
Katrina Germein
July 15, 2010 at 1:33 pmGreat idea! Op Shops are fabulous. So are cubbies!
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 16, 2010 at 1:16 pmYep — a winning combination
SquiggleMum
July 15, 2010 at 2:03 pmKelly this is a really great idea!!
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 16, 2010 at 1:17 pmKeep in mind Cath, when your children are a little older. They will LOVE it!
Julie
July 15, 2010 at 7:50 pmThat looks like fun! I’m curious about the “codes”. Did you get to have a peek after the codes were written?
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 16, 2010 at 1:18 pmHA! I didn’t ask… Hmmmm
Catherine Lowe
July 15, 2010 at 8:52 pmWhat an awesome idea! I love op shopping but will look forward to this project when my babes older! Great stuff 🙂
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 16, 2010 at 1:18 pmOh do! Op shopping is absolutely fab.
Janet
July 15, 2010 at 10:27 pmHey just call me the Retro Mama, coz I got one of them retro telephone directory thingies!!! LOL
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 17, 2010 at 8:54 pmLOL! My Dad used to have one too. I thought it so cool!
Gill@OurParklife
July 16, 2010 at 12:25 amI love this – I agree, children can be amazingly imaginative at seeing multiple uses for an object….You activity has created so many different great learning opps…My oldest child is just 2 so I will remember this idea and give it a go in a few years time…
Mum and Dad had one of those old phone directory things and we used to play with it all the time!
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 17, 2010 at 8:55 pmOh do Gill. I’m sure, in a couple of years, your child will love it!
amandab
July 17, 2010 at 1:22 pmI like the idea of giving Princess some money to go treasure hunting at the op shop. We have to go next week and get clothes to wear to an ’80’s party, so I might try it and see what she comes up with. Dress ups, tea sets, would love it if she could find a typewriter (anytime I open twitter she suddenly reveals a need to type! I think the different feel and sound of the typewriter would be awesome!).
And the typewriter would go so well with the phone directory for setting up an office or newspaper!! Oh, now I want to play! 🙂
Love the kids cubby 🙂
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 17, 2010 at 8:56 pmI’ve been looking for a typrewriter too! LOL. I agree, the feel and sound it something special. Go the 80’s. Make sure you have big hair and purple eye shadow.
Marita
July 19, 2010 at 1:12 pmMy girls are usually given $10 each at birthdays and Christmas to buy gifts for each other. It is fascinating to watch them try to puzzle out how to spend the $10 and get their sibling a nice gift (that they can also play with themselves 😀 )
Love the Op Shop cubby idea. I :heart: op shops and we seem to spend much time in them.
Kelly Be A Fun Mum
July 19, 2010 at 2:38 pm@Marita, you really ARE a FunMum you know.
Christie - Childhood 101
July 19, 2010 at 10:09 pmWhat a great idea, my cousins and I had a cubby filled with op shop finds and bits and pieces we begged from our families when I was growing up.
Nature Hunt : Be A Fun Mum
July 23, 2010 at 7:11 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Balloon Fight Fun : Be A Fun Mum
August 7, 2010 at 10:42 am[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Panadol & Nurofen = 3D City Skyline Craft : Be A Fun Mum
August 18, 2010 at 1:21 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Paper Dolls : Be A Fun Mum
September 14, 2010 at 11:03 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
ickle Kids
September 17, 2010 at 9:40 amWhat a great idea kelly! We love op shops too and we love taking our kids to “Antique/Preloved” superstores which are dotted around Victoria. The kids have found some amazing finds like old Star Wars figurines, my favourite Enid Blyton books which are now their favourites – “The Magic Faraway Tree” etc.
We love, love, love exploring inside them – glad the kids do too!
Be A Fun Mum This School Holidays : Be A Fun Mum
September 17, 2010 at 4:51 pm[…] Op-Shop Cubby ShareSubscribeDiggdel.icio.usFacebookStumbleUpon […]
Snowman Without the Snow : Be A Fun Mum
September 21, 2010 at 6:50 am[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Planning a Family Holiday plus Giveaway | Be A Fun Mum
November 29, 2010 at 6:42 am[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Anyone Can Do It: Face Painting | Be A Fun Mum
December 3, 2010 at 7:27 am[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
How Many Extracurricular Activities is Too Much? | Be A Fun Mum
December 10, 2010 at 12:11 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Balacing Creativity and Technology | Be A Fun Mum
December 20, 2010 at 9:30 am[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
How to Make a Flower Head Wreath | Be A Fun Mum
January 4, 2011 at 10:50 am[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Paper Clip Crafts and Activities | Be A Fun Mum
April 11, 2011 at 9:56 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Unlock Creativity: Hours of Happy Play Ahead | Be A Fun Mum
April 11, 2011 at 10:46 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Family Fun: Taking a Walk Down Memory Lane | Be A Fun Mum
April 26, 2011 at 1:40 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
15 Adventurous Things To Do With Kids
June 17, 2011 at 12:08 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
The Best of 2011
December 30, 2011 at 3:26 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
The Grass is Greener
January 4, 2012 at 4:47 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
10 Outing Ideas for Kids (that don’t cost a fortune)
January 11, 2012 at 3:58 pm[…] are full of awesome finds. Even $1 will buy your something! The kids can buy items to make a thrift shop cubby, buy buttons for a necklace or craft, find an old jar to display collections, or just to browse and […]
Ms K
January 12, 2012 at 11:48 amWe do things like this too. It’s become a lot of fun in our house!
50 Backyard Game Ideas
June 28, 2012 at 8:48 am[…] Build a makeshift cubbyhouse. Visit this post for more ideas: Thrift Shop Cubby […]
100 School Holiday Activity Ideas
September 23, 2013 at 1:37 pm[…] Make a cubbyhouse from items from a second hand […]
A Rock Play Garden
February 24, 2014 at 9:09 am[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
Second Hand Shop Painting Activity
March 15, 2014 at 10:32 am[…] Make an Op Shop Cubby […]
DIY Play Tablecloth
July 8, 2014 at 5:28 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]
DIY Play Tablecloth | Social bookmarking
July 8, 2014 at 6:10 pm[…] Op Shop Cubby […]