Additional Needs

Activities for Lockdown 

Posted by Carolyn Voisey on 14th May 2020 Additional Needs, Advice & Support, Disabilities

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Anyone else running low on ideas to entertain their kids? Not just me then?!

Weeks into lockdown with many more to go has meant that inspiration is decidedly lacking – Pinterest, already a favourite, is showing up on my browser history with alarming frequency and I am feeling distinctly inadequate as a crafter!

This week’s inspiration? Sock toys.

Sam had a great time going through his old socks, he was fascinated by how small some of them were (he was a tiny baby) and picked out a white sock with dark blue toe and heel, and stars printed on the rest for our first project. This is a lovely craft to do with children who can use their hands but kiddos like Sam who can’t can still join in. I had a bag of toy stuffing in the craft supplies, but old fabric scraps, old t-shirts or tights work well too and are washable.

We found the pattern in a book we already had but it was incredibly simple and all you need are a few very basic sewing skills. You can find loads of patters and ideas online, but we found that you don’t want to put too much stuffing in, you can easily manipulate the stuffing to give a neck portion, keeping a rounded head and rounded body, just by rolling the sock until you’re happy with the shape and can always add more as needed. As Sam’s sock had a coloured heel, we decided to wiggle some of the stuffing into the heel and create a nose. I also removed the dark blue strip around the ankle of the sock before stitching the sock toy closed, this now became a collar with a bell (again from the crafting supplies).  A bit of stitching for nose and eyes and voila… meet Bosworth the Sock Critter!

Granted, this activity needs willing adult participation, but Sam really enjoyed seeing his sock become a new toy and loves how cuddly Bosworth is.

A quick search online will show how many possibilities there are; we already have a second toy (an elephant) in progress and Sam likes the idea of making a couple for his Grandparents as little keepsakes of when he was a baby. You really are only restricted by your imagination, and how creative you feel like being x