Lincoln Logs

• Carve old-fashioned Lincoln Logs. To do this, all you need is a number of dowels, cut into various lengths as desired, a sharp knife or electric carving tool and some sandpaper.
  
  Take each dowel piece, and cut out a notch approximately half an inch from the end of the dowel. The notch should penetrate the dowel by about a quarter. Do the same thing on the opposite side of the dowel on the same side. Carve out the notch so that the bottom is flat. This will allow the Lincoln Logs to sit together properly. Do this until all the logs have four notches (two on each end), and then sand the notches to eliminate splinters.
  
  If desired, coat the logs with a non-toxic paint or finish. These are great as gifts because the child can get creative in terms of what they want to build and how they build it, and they are good for teaching spatial relationships. There are no small parts that could be swallowed, and parts are easily replaced.
  
  

Scrapbook

• Preserve memories with a wooden scrapbook. For the main part of the scrapbook, you will need two squares of wood board or very thin plywood of the same size, a wood punch or drill, sandpaper and string.
  
  Drill or punch two or three holes in the wooden squares on one side. The holes should be about a quarter of the way from the horizontal edge, like a binder. Sand the squares down so that there are no rough edges. Finish with non-toxic paint or finish. Then cut paper to fit and coordinate holes in the paper with the holes in the squares. Thread the string through the paper and squares to secure everything together.
  
  Let the child decorate the scrapbook squares (covers) in whatever way they like once they know what they want to preserve in the scrapbook.
  
  

Treasure Box

• Give children a way to contain keepsakes with a Popsicle stick treasure box. All that's needed for this is some glue and clean Popsicle (craft) sticks. To make the bottom and top, lay out four sticks so they form a square, and glue them together in the corners. Glue sticks parallel to each other across this frame. (Do this twice, once for the bottom and once for the top.) Make another square frame, but this time simply keep layering sticks on the frame. This forms the box. When finished, glue the bottom of the box to the frame. Decorate as desired.