Rainy day fun (on a dime)

We are in the middle of rainy season. It sure didn't feel that way during our first three weeks here as we didn't even see a cloud in the sky. We've had heavy thundershowers each day over the past two weeks so many afternoons have been spent inside. I didn't pack a ton of toys for Caleb, as I was really looking forward to living with less for a few months (and I was afraid to go over the 50 lb weight limit on luggage at the airport). Thankfully I packed a bag of lego (used every day since), some modelling clay, crayons, scissors, glue and a few trucks. These toys, along with a few activity books that my mom brought, have done us amazingly well.

 Lately I've been looking for a few other things to do with Cale and since I have no interest in spending money on plastic toys down here,  I've had to get creative. Here are a few things I've come up with:

Balloon toss: We've discovered the best way to teach a toddler how to catch - use a balloon!

Rocketship: Made by Greg using on old cracker box. Decorated by Caleb.

Marble drop: An idea from 'Made by Joel'  using a cereal box. Mine doesn't look nearly as good as Joel's, so I'd check out his blog if you want to attempt this one. Caleb really had fun racing the marbles down the 'track'.

Scoops: Made with plastic juice jugs. An idea I found when googling 'toys made from trash'. I didn't have an appropriate sized ball, but we found a rolled up sock worked just fine!

Knock down the people: Classic bowling game from my childhood.