Thursday, August 8, 2013

HOW TO MAKE BUSY BAGS FOR LITTLE ONES --- LEARN & LINK W/ LINKY






 
 
 
This week we started a new year of homeschooling. I have been preparing for awhile for this new school year not just for my older children but for my younger children as well. Tomorrow my 2 older boys have a Lego co-op class, how do I keep my 2 and 4 year old kids busy while the class is in progress?
 
 
Two words ---- BUSY BAGS!
 

 
What is a busy bag you ask? It is a bag whether it be a Ziploc bag or an zippered pencil case bag or any smaller bag filled with hands on activities to keep your little one busy!
 
Most of what I have used I either had already or I purchased at the Dollar Tree. These bags are great for home and for on the go. They are the perfect solution to keep kids busy! I made a total of 16 bags which I plan on rotating.
 
 
Items:
Pom Poms
Empty Vitamin Bottle
Large Paper Clips
Index Cards
Stickers
Lacing
Small Tower Blocks
Piper Cleaners
Pony Beads
Foam Shapes
Plastic Bottles with Caps
Small Chalkboard With Chalk and Eraser
Small Connector Blocks
Small Books
Lacing Cards
Foam Puzzles
Dry Erase Book
Pool Noodles Cut in Chunks
Pick Up Sticks
Binder Rings
Small Etch a Sketch
Magnetic Doodles
Straws
Safety Kids Scissors
 
For each item I placed in it's own zippered pencil case which this week they are selling for a penny at Office Depot!
 
 
How they are used:
From left to right: golf tee's go in the triangle, the binder rings open and close and the child can connect them together, foam puzzle - build, dry erase activity book, chalk board the child can write or draw and then erase with the foam eraser, connector blocks we got in a Wendy's kids meal a few years ago, take 2 plastic bottles with attached tops and have the child transfer items from one to another - I used foam shapes, Learning cards and small pocket game which were on clearance and a hand me down, plastic travel size bricks.
 
 
How they are used:
From left to right have the child cut the straws, poke the Pick Up Sticks in the cut pool noddles they can even build with them, Magnetic Doodles, Coloring pad and crayons, Jumbo size paper clips they can clip to index cards, Small books and a sheet of stickers. I randomly placed stickers on index cards my kids will take the matching stickers off the sticker sheet and stick it on the index cards, pipe cleaners can be strung with the pony beads, plastic travel blocks and lacing cards.
 
I have some of the larger items in Ziploc bags because the zippered pencil bags are too small. Look around your home what do you have that you can use in your busy bags you will be surprised what you find!
 
 

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16 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for hosting! Love all the busy bag ideas! Pinned it!

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  2. I love all of these ideas! I'm about to make a bunch of busy bags for my toddler that he can play with when I am nursing my new baby. I still have a few more months to prepare, but I'm already collecting ideas. ;)

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  3. What great fun! I think my son would have trouble selecting which one to work on first.

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  4. Great ideas for keeping kids busy. Your children must love them.

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  5. I am new to busy bags, but have been pinning ideas for my toddler for the car. Great list! In our case, we may try boxes. LO loves boxes. We just got back from a trip & I told hubby we'll have to keep a bunch of kleenex boxes and stash them in the car for him to play with. What's better if they have a toy surprise?!

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  6. We are working on busy bags over here too!

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  7. I already picked up 6 bags- super excited to make them for my daughter!

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  8. What a great idea... especially to take on vacations or rainy days... Love it!

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  9. This is so organized and such a fun idea. They would also be great to take on long car rides.

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  10. This is such a fun idea! I needed to make some of these for our cross country road trip!

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  11. This is great and such a good idea! I agree this is very good for those rainy days....I know this will keep my kids from saying their bored.

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  12. These are awesome! And perfect for our upcoming trip next week! Got to get some of these made! I love how affordable they are to make too.

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  13. These are pretty cool!! Never had the need for them but I should still make some for my kiddos (specially when we are eating out and they get jumpy).

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  14. So many great ideas! I am excited to get started on making my own.

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  15. Such a fun idea. I need to make a few of these for my kids, especially for when we are eating out.

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Nicole, the mama behind the Mama to 5 Blessings blog, is a mom to 5 children. Three boys: ages 8 years, 5 years, 2 years, a daughter 4 years and a new baby girl born April 19th 2013. She has been married to her husband Fritz for 11 years. Here at Mama to 5 Blessings you will find quite a variety of topics: recipes, crafts for moms and children, homeschooling, parenting, reviews and giveaways, thrifty tips and much more! Mama to 5 Blessings can also be found on Twitter @mamato3blessing, Facebook and Pinterest.