Monday, July 30, 2012

Toddler busy bags!

Lately I have two new obsessions: Pinterest, and busy bags.

Pinterest... well, I'm a late adopter on that one. Everyone and their mother is already on it. I managed to keep it off my radar for a while, knowing that once on there was no going back... and that is exactly so. So, feel free to follow me on Pinterest if you're into it (see top right for button).

Busy bags! Oh! I am loving this idea. Busy bags are contained activities to keep toddlers (or even older kids) busy. Each bag has a different project or activity. How fun!

There are LOADS of ideas out there for busy bags, and I really want my local mums' group to do a busy bag swap playdate, if I can convince a few mums. Then each mum can make a bunch of the same bag, and go home from the playdate with a selection of different ones. Great idea, right?! They don't even have to be crafty.

Here are some ideas (and you can find a lot more by searching for them)
  • crayons and a small blank book or notepad... a classic
  • felt board (cardstock covered in felt) and felt shapes to stick on. That can be a puzzle or a scene, colours, animals, whatever! Or, bits of yarn to "draw" with on the felt.
  • lacing cards (as simple as bristol board cut into shapes and gone at with a hole punch), or pasta shapes, or big beads (supervised play of course - gotta watch those choking hazards) and a shoelace (great for fine motor control)
  • small coloured objects and containers (for sorting, learning colours, fine motor control, and also good for shaking to make noise!)
  • paint chips for sorting colours (bonus - free at your local hardware store!)
  • matching tops and bottoms of those hollow plastic easter eggs (fine motor control, colours) - for an added bonus mark them with upper and lower case letters.
  • an "I-Spy" box or bag or bottle - make with a box with a clear lid, filled with rice and small toys - or a ziploc taped shut - or a clear plastic water bottle - whatever you do, make sure it is,  taped or hot glued securely shut!
Okay, I could do this for hours (and pin them all on Pinterest)... but I think I'll just go play with my toddler :)

1 comment:

Hey, why not leave a comment? I'd love to hear what you think. If you're entering a giveaway, be sure to leave your email address if it's not set to public in your profile!