The Mom I Want to Be

We keep a box of small, nonworking appliances, such as an old telephone, answering machine, radio, etc. Then when my kids get bored, I have them choose one of the appliances and take it all apart, and then try to put it back together again. If they get it together and there are some extra screws or small parts left over, we just put them in a small recloseable bag and tape it to the appliance. Then the next time they take it apart, they may be able to figure out where the “extra” pieces were supposed to go!