I knew T would like it, but wasn't sure if she has the manual dexterity yet. I remember being pretty frustrated with Spirograph as a kid - the gears would always slip around and ruin whatever cool pattern I was drawing.
So I put it down and went to pay for the $3 bead maze BabyM had gotten attached to. The nice lady behind the counter informed me they had a $5 minimum for credit card purchases, so I went back to retrieve Spirograph, which I bought for $4.50.
Turns out that was a smart move. Vintage versions of this toy with all the pieces are selling for upwards of $20 on EBay. Ours is from 1986 and surprisingly the ballpoint pens still work!
We started our new "mama school" summer schedule today since TJ is away all day on his motorcycle. To preserve everyone's sanity, and to limit the number of entertainment decisions I need to make on the fly, I drafted a rough daily schedule, modeled on one from a friend. (More on that in a future post.)
So our morning "art project" was learning to use Spirograph, and T kept going long after the allotted 45 minutes. (The schedule is flexible like that.)
We discovered her cheap colored ballpoint pens from Daiso, the Japanese dollar store, work great, as do her glittery Hello Kitty gel pens from the Target $1 section. She got the hang of placing the holder under the paper and poking the pins through it, and placing the outer ring and selecting which little gears she wanted to use. (We're all about self-sufficiency here...)
I think I need to hack our Spirograph a bit - perhaps repositionable Glue Dots to stick the frame to the paper would be better than that cumbersome plastic holder (which I'm afraid we'll lose). I also need to figure out a good work surface so the pens don't scratch up the table. A large piece of foamcore board might work well.
I realized that the original box/package is way bigger than it needs to be, so we put all the pieces into a smaller pencil box. I did save the original packaging in the garage on the off chance that we'll still have all the pieces once BabyM is done with it, and we can sell it for $$$ on EBay. Or whatever replacement for EBay is around in 2020 or so...
This "new" toy was definitely a hit. Have you unearthed any of your favorite childhood toys for your kiddos?
Wow, that's a truly awesome find! I had a spirograph when I was a kid (and also found it frustrating when the gears slipped - often) but it was so much fun. Hope she continues to love it. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat find! I so wish my kids would sit still for that long. And, I can't wait to hear more about this summer schedule!
ReplyDeleteOH I wish I could find one
ReplyDeleteNo childhood toys here that I can recall...
ReplyDeleteBut what a tease about the summer schedule! That better be the next post!
That is such a fun find. I remember my brother had one of those and I loved it (more than he did I think). Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI loved spirograph and bought it for my sons when they were small. Restoration Hardware sometimes brings it back around the holidays.
ReplyDeleteCool! There's a newer version on Amazon though it appears to be more complex than the one we have.
DeleteThanks for the walk down memory lane. Specific memory of getting frustrated with the "slipping" and throwing the whole thing across the room. = )
ReplyDeleteI may or may not have a similar memory ;)
DeleteHow cool is that, I don't have anything from my childhood it was all destroyed in a flood, my friend has her original babies and toys from growing up and her kids use them all the time :)
ReplyDeleteFabulous find!!!
ReplyDeleteI actually just saw this at Toys R Us recently and almost picked it up from my son. But then I opened it and saw how junky it was. Nothing from like when we were younger!
Eh, it's pretty junky and way overpackaged - the whole thing fits in a small pencil box, and everything is plastic. But it's still cool :D
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