Set up sample gifts on display tables at your workshop. Then you can "show and tell" how to make and use these educational gifts.

      You'll certainly have ideas of your own to share. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

1. My Own Magnets: Get disc magnets from the hardware or craft store. Put them in a covered tin along with items that are magnetic and items that are not magnetic. The child will spend hours investigating with the magnets.

2. My Own Stapler: A "Tot" stapler and mini staples - available at variety stores - are small enough for a preschooler's (age 4 and up) hands. These should be used with supervision. At first children just staple thousands of times. Later they are ready to attach papers to each other and to make simple pouches and pocketbooks.

3. My Own Keys: Put several cast-off keys on a special key ring for each of your children. They love to have their own. Be sure all electric sockets are covered. Eliminate the temptation to put a key in a socket.

4. Basket of Keys: Place a collection of old cast-off keys in a basket or tin. Kids use these for counting, sorting and classifying.

5. My Bottle Caps: Fill a tin, box, or plastic jar full of bottle caps of various sizes. Beware of too-small pieces for younger children. Toddlers use these with pots and pans for cooking. 4's and 5's sort them by color or size, or they sort them by which do and which don't have writing on them. Some kids use them to make other things -- like shapes on the floor.

6. Matching Cards: Show parents how to make matching pairs of cards using inexpensive stickers and 3" squares of poster board. Depending on the child's age, the cards are useful for matching or for memory games. Remind parents that for younger children, very few pairs of cards are used. Add more pairs as the child gains experience and ability.

   The cards can also be used for a variation of Old Maid by having one unmatched card in the bunch. Again, use very few pair for the youngest preschool children.

7. Toddlers and tots love to fill things then empty them again. Put a variety of large plastic jar lids and milk bottle tops in a plastic wide-mouth jar. A jumbo peanut butter jar works well. For a variation, place a rattle or small squeeze toy in a wide mouth jar. The tot will play "put-me-in, take-me-out" again and again.

8. Toddlers and tots especially enjoy a Shaker Bottle. Use a clean, clear plastic, salad dressing bottle with screw-on plastic top. Insert 3" snips of embroidery floss, 2-1/2" snips of sewing thread, and 6 or more plastic buttons. Glue the top on the bottle and cover the top with duct tape to prevent inquisitive children from trying to remove the lid. Kids hold the bottle by the neck, shake it, and watch what happens. For variety, add non-rusting glitter or sequins.

9. Children of all ages are intrigued with a Mystery Bottle: Fill a clear, 1-liter soda bottle half way with water. Add 1/4 cup of liquid dish detergent and a bit of food color. Glue the top on tightly, then seal with duct tape. Children will return to this bottle again and again to shake it and watch the magic transformation.

10. Make an Art Box. Using an empty laundry detergent box with a handle, put in new crayons or markers, a small bottle of glue, scraps of fancy paper, used greeting cards, fabric scraps, trimmings, yarn, sequins, glitter, and a pair of blunt scissors. Include large pieces of unlined paper. This is a good take-along box when visiting relatives or going to a restaurant.

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