
Traditional toys are the clearest testament to the ingenuity and creativity of Vietnamese people. Therefore, children can be introduced to traditional toys from a young age. Let’s explore ways to make traditional toys for preschoolers with AVAKids’ Early Childhood Education 0-6 years old section in the article below.
The Significance of Traditional Toys
Traditional toys are handcrafted from natural materials like wood, bamboo, rattan, clay, fabric, paper, etc. These toys are simple, without batteries, electricity, or advanced technology, yet they still offer psychological and educational value.
Traditional toys play a vital role in developing preschoolers’ abilities and overall development. Here are some benefits of making traditional toys for preschool children:
- Encourages creativity and logical thinking in children
- Helps children develop motor skills and sensory perception
- Supports children’s emotional development
- Develops physical skills
- Teaches children focus, patience, and goal completion
- Helps children understand and respect traditional values
- Encourages children to explore and learn about the world around them
- Develops self-reliance and independence in children

Benefits of making traditional toys for preschoolers
10 Fun Ways to Make Traditional Toys for Preschoolers
1. Paper Kite
Kite flying is a traditional outdoor game loved by people of all ages, especially children. There are many different ways to make kites, but the easiest and most suitable for preschoolers is making paper kites.
Materials:
- Bamboo sticks
- Paper
- String and glue
Steps:
- Make the kite frame: The kite’s frame is usually made of pre-whittled bamboo. The stronger the frame, the more stable the kite will be in the wind.
- Measure and cut the kite’s sail: To make the kite’s sail, cut a 1m wide piece of plastic bag, paper, or fabric. Make the sail from wallpaper or newspaper.
- Assemble the kite parts, make the kite tail, attach the string, and decorate.
- Now you’ve finished making a paper toy for your child!
2. Ô Ăn Quan
This traditional toy is quite simple to make. You need a small flat surface where you can draw a large rectangle and divide it evenly into 10 small squares. Draw two large arcs at both ends of the rectangle. Each square will contain 5 small, equal-sized stones, and the two arcs will each hold 2 larger stones.
Players take turns picking up stones from each square and distributing them evenly in the direction of the drawn board. Where the last stone lands, if the next square has stones, the player continues picking up and distributing them into the squares. If the last stone lands on an empty square, the player takes all the stones from the next square. If it lands on two empty squares, it’s the next player’s turn. The winner is the person who collects the most stones after taking from their opponent’s squares.

How to make Ô Ăn Quan for preschoolers
3. Spinning Top
Spinning tops are usually toys for boys and can be played by two or more people; the more, the merrier. The top is made of wood, meticulously carved to form a spherical post with an iron tip underneath. A strong string is wound from top to bottom of the spinning top, and the string is skillfully pulled to make the top spin.
4. Capture the Flag
Capture the Flag is a very simple game. Just make small flags for children using small bamboo sticks and then stick flag images onto the sticks. Also, make a flag box. Place the flag box and the flags in the middle of a pre-drawn circle and divide the children into equal teams, numbering them sequentially. Multiple numbers can be called at the same time for each turn. The team that captures the flag and brings it back to their team without being caught is the winning team. Capture the Flag helps children train their physical strength and improve their health.
5. Bamboo Dancing
To make this traditional toy, prepare bamboo sticks of equal length, about 6-8 sticks depending on the number of children playing. Then, the children will jump to the music, and the other teams will lift the bamboo sticks to the rhythm. Teach the children how to jump so that their feet don’t get caught between the bamboo sticks. This is a popular game in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam.
6. Rattle Drum
A rattle drum is a fun toy for 1-year-olds, and the sound of the drum will delight them. Rattle drums are made from glue guns, colorful tape, empty round boxes, wooden sticks, and yarn. First, drill a hole in the drum body and use hot glue to attach the wooden stick. Then, drill two holes on the sides of the box and thread a string with two wooden beads through the holes. Finally, decorate the rattle drum to your liking, and it’s done.
How to make a simple rattle drum for children
7. Tug of War
Tug of War is a simple game for children to enjoy. All you need is a long rope to organize the game for preschoolers. The rules are also very easy. Tie a piece of cloth to mark the midpoint and divide the children into two equal teams. The team that pulls the cloth tied on the rope towards their side past the dividing line is the winning team. This active game helps children develop teamwork and requires good physical strength.
8. Ring Toss
This traditional toy uses empty water bottles as targets, and then rings are tossed to go around the bottle necks. To make it more interesting for children, you can decorate the plastic bottles with vibrant colors. Although it’s very simple, this game also requires a lot of skill from the children: dexterity of the hands, sharp eyes, and sometimes, if they’re more skilled, children can calculate the appropriate throwing force to get the ring around the bottle neck.
9. Shoulder Pole
In the past, shoulder poles were very familiar to grandparents and parents. Children also imitated their parents, so parents made small, cute shoulder poles for their children to play with. Nowadays, it seems that people have replaced shoulder poles with more modern tools. But to avoid losing this cultural identity and to help children understand it better, teachers at school can create beautiful, colorful shoulder poles to attract children’s attention.
10. Stilts
Stilts are an outdoor game for preschoolers, suitable for children around 4-5 years old. This will be a challenging toy for children, made from bamboo sticks cut into short sections. Then, a hole is drilled in the middle, and a short piece of bamboo is inserted to make a joint strong enough to stand on. Playing with stilts will teach children how to balance very well. Children only need to practice a few times to overcome this fun challenge.
Some Notes When Making Traditional Toys for Preschoolers
Making traditional toys for preschoolers is a fun activity that helps save money. However, when doing so, keep the following points in mind to ensure the safety and educational value of the toys:
- Choose safe materials: When making traditional toys for preschoolers, absolutely do not choose harmful materials such as iron, dyes, glue of unknown origin, etc.
- Simple, easy-to-play designs: Choose simple toys that are not too complicated for children to play with easily.
- Ensure educational value: Choose toys with high educational value such as puzzles, building blocks, coloring books, etc.
- Check for safety and hygiene before use: Before letting children play, check for any broken parts or strange smells. Repair and clean, sanitize the toys promptly to ensure children’s safety.
- Supervise children while playing: Always keep an eye on children while they play because they tend to put toys in their mouths, which can easily lead to choking. Also, prevent children from being injured by sharp edges.
- Encourage children to make their own toys: If children make their own toys, they will be more interested and cherish them more.
Hopefully, the ways to make traditional toys for preschoolers compiled by AVAKids above will give parents more ideas for making toys for their children this summer.
In addition to traditional toy recipes, parents can also let their children play with other types of toys such as Antona toys, etc., to make them more excited.