Keep kids busy with old stationery supplies...

If you have odds and ends of stationery supplies gathering dust, they can keep kids occupied between more active activities.

An old binder with a pocket front, see through plastic page and business card protectors, index cards, old greeting cards and imagination are all that's needed.

Instead of thinking of the binder as a scrapbook, which creates a finished product, encourage kids to use it as a toy, changing it often and inventing new games with the materials.

Children can make a puppet show, display their art work or stories, assemble a collection or play matching games with their own drawings and divided page protectors.

Often it only takes a suggestion or two to motivate children to develop an idea further. Comments such as, what if you made a second puppet with this old greeting card, these yellow index cards would make frog prince crowns, or I wonder what you could collect and display in these plastic dividers, keep children inspired to play.

Keep some items back and introduce them later. Giving children a few new supplies such as pieces of clear cellophane, hole reinforcement stickers or paper fasteners keeps imaginative play and creativity going.

Add a clear 3-holed pencil case for tape, a pair of scissors, a few felt markers and a pencil, and children can create without having to search for supplies.

Teach children these 8 basic skills to help them become independent artists.

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