Busy Bag Basket!

Busy Bags are one of my favorite go to activities for my 3 (almost 4) year old. We have had ours for about 2 years. They are well used and loved. I keep them in my kitchen/dining room so we can pull them out to use at the table whenever mommy needs to get something done. Here is a look at our Busy Bag Basket.

Here we go!!

Color Matching:

This is a cheap, quick bag to start with. Get several solid color paint swatches from your local hardware store. Cut them in half and put in the bag. The goal is to match the colors. If you are doing it with your child, have them name the colors.  

This is another variation on the color matching. In this case, I cut a long multi-shade paint swatch in half. I used a large punch at the dividing lines. It takes more effort to match the shades. If you want to add a self-correcting element, add numbers or letters to the back of the punched pieces and the strip so that kids can check their own work. 

 Shape matching: 

We found objects around our house and traced them on construction paper. The goal is to match the outline to the object. 

Sewing:

This is a great fine motor activity. It uses a couple small pieces of plastic canvas and a piece of thin ribbon with a knot at the end. 

Sensory Activities:  

This bag has a mini container of playdough. Some dyed pasta and beads along with a piece of plastic string and couple small pipe cleaners. My daughter comes up with all sorts of things to do with these!

 Puzzles: 

I found these 2 part puzzles on Three Dinosaur's website. There are a ton of other great materials. I laminated the cards and cut them apart. To make them self-correcting, you could use fancy scissors or make a fancy cut. 

We printed some simple clip art picture and Mod Podged them onto wide Popsicle sticks. Word of warning, these did great during the winter, but in our humid summers and the glossy finish they have a tendency to stick to one another. My daughter could care less that they aren't perfect so we just keep pulling them apart.

These are some of our busy bags. I found inspiration from the following websites:
http://secondstorywindow.typepad.com/home/2011/10/toddler-time-busy-bag-series-part-2.html
https://therigneys.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/toddler-busy-bag-swap/


 You should have no problem finding some ideas for bags that work for your family. They take a little time to put together but are TOTALLY worth it!