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Repair · Activity for ages 5–9

Fix it with kids: 5 easy repairs

Find the exact problem, use the right small tool, and let your child do as much as is safe. These five fixes take 5 to 20 minutes each and need only a needle and thread, a drop of oil, book tape or a screwdriver.

Leo holds the wagon wheel steady while Koru drips oil on the axle.

Fix 1 · Ages 5+ with a grown-up holding the needle; ages 8+ can stitch

Sew up a stuffed animal seam

You need

  • Needle
  • Thread close to the fur colour
  • Scissors (grown-up)
  • A little extra stuffing if some fell out

Steps

  1. Push any loose stuffing back inside the tear.
  2. Thread the needle and knot the end.
  3. Starting inside the seam, make small stitches that go back and forth across the opening, pulling the two edges together (a ladder stitch hides best).
  4. Pull snug, knot, and hide the tail by pushing the needle into the body and out again, then trim.

Fix 2 · Ages 5+ with a grown-up

Quiet a squeaky wheel

You need

  • A light household oil or bike oil
  • A rag

Steps

  1. Spin the wheel slowly and listen for where the squeak comes from.
  2. Look for rust or dirt where the wheel meets the axle. Wipe it with the rag.
  3. Add one or two drops of oil where the wheel turns on the axle.
  4. Spin it a few times and wipe off any extra oil.

Fix 3 · Ages 5+

Fix a torn book page

You need

  • Clear book tape (archival tape), not regular sticky tape
  • Scissors

Steps

  1. Line up the torn edges so the words and pictures match.
  2. Cut a piece of book tape a little longer than the tear.
  3. Smooth it on one side of the page, pressing from the middle out.
  4. Close the book and press it flat under a pile of books for an hour.

Fix 4 · Ages 7+ with a grown-up

Sew a button back on

You need

  • Needle and thread
  • The button
  • A toothpick

Steps

  1. Find where the old button was; you will see old holes or threads.
  2. Knot the thread and come up from the back of the fabric.
  3. Lay a toothpick across the button and sew over it through the holes 5 or 6 times; the toothpick leaves a little slack.
  4. Remove the toothpick, wind the thread around the stitches under the button a few times, and knot at the back.

Fix 5 · Ages 5+

Tighten a wobbly toy

You need

  • A small screwdriver that fits the screw

Steps

  1. Find what is wobbling: often a wheel, a hinge or a handle.
  2. Look for the screw that holds it.
  3. Turn the screwdriver to the right ("righty-tighty") until it is snug, not forced.
  4. Test the toy. Never open battery covers on button batteries; ask a grown-up.

Finished a fix?

Print the free Official Fixer certificate, signed by Koru.

Fixing things with kids: questions

Why teach kids to repair things?

Fixing things teaches patience, problem-solving and care for what we own, and it keeps toys and clothes out of the garbage. Repair is one of the four Rs: reduce, reuse, repair, recycle.

At what age can kids start fixing things?

From about age 5 kids can help find the problem, hold parts and use book tape. From about 7 or 8 they can sew simple stitches and use a screwdriver with a grown-up nearby.

How do you fix a hole in a stuffed animal?

Push the stuffing back in, then close the opening with small ladder stitches in matching thread, pulling the edges together so the stitches hide in the fur. Knot and hide the thread end inside the body.