MORE Busy Bag Ideas

I really hope you need more busy bag ideas because I’ve rounded up a few more of my kids’ favorites to show you. 

{If you missed the first busy bag post, click here}

And there might be one more post of busy bags coming up… maybe.  Do you need more?  Cause I’ve got ‘em!  Remember, I came home with a whopping 47 bags last week.  To be honest, we haven’t even opened some of them (like the colored pasta or rice – I’m saving those for a project with the girls ;))

But let’s take a look at some of the busy bags that we have played with and loved. 

First up, I’ll show you the two I made.  I’m maybe a little bit ashamed to admit it because mine were soooo inexpensive to make and I know that some people had to have spent quite a bit of money on theirs.  I know I came away with a TON more than I contributed.  But hey, that’s the way it goes.  I couldn’t have done it at all if I didn’t have cheap ones. 

Anyway, back at the ranch….

Popsicle Match 

Cut felt in a variety of colors for ‘popsicles’… 2 per color.  Hot glue, or sew the two pieces of the same color together being careful not to close the bottom.  Write the name of the color of each ‘popsicle’ on the end of a large craft stick (tongue depressor) in black (for beginning readers), and on the other side, write the name of the ‘popsicles’ in the actual color of each popsicle itself (for preschoolers).  Do NOT attach the popsicles.  They are meant to be slid on and off the sticks for matching the colors and/or color names.

Worm Pick-up

You just need a bird (clothespin), a piece of ‘grass’ (paper) and some worms (pipe cleaners).  Cut the worms up and shape them.  Have the bird pick up the worms from the floor or table and put them on the ‘grass’.  {Lots more great ideas for fine motor skills here!}  C likes this one.  He had a hard time with the ‘bird’ at first but he’s got the hang of it now.

Rocks in a Bottle

I know this seems silly but I’m telling you the kids love this! Take an empty water bottle and fill it with those decorative pebbles.  You don’t need the bottle to be full.  My kids (especially C and B) like this a lot.  They dump them out and then they stay busy putting them all back in.  And then they dump them out and put them back in again.  It’s a vicious cycle! 

Actually, they really like it when I let them have an egg carton, too.  They like separating all the rocks into the different egg compartments.  H likes to separate the different colors of rocks this way, too.

Hot Glue Designs

A and H really like this one a lot.  They are already contemplating what other kinds of shapes and designs they could make.

Just take your hot glue gun and make a design on some cardboard (squiggles, shapes, smiley faces, stripes, etc – hey those all start with S… weird!).  Once it’s completely cooled and dried, you can set a piece of paper over the design and rub it with the side of a crayon (remove crayon wrapper first).

Sponge Blocks

C and B have already had a ton of fun with this one!  Just cut some sponges into strips.  It doesn’t get any easier than that, right?  My kids play with them slightly wet to help them stay.  Plus, C likes to squeeze the water out of them (over the cookie sheet, of course ;)).  This keeps my kids entertained for quite a while sometimes.  And sometimes not, you know how kids are…

Wooden Disc Memory Game

I’m sure that’s not the technical name but it’s late and I don’t want to find that particular bag (among the 47!) just to find out.  We’ll have to live with Wooden Disc Memory Game for now.

This is one of MY favorites!  I don’t know why.  It’s just so darn cute!  It’s pretty self explanatory.  Just cut shapes out of felt to fit the discs and glue them on.  Have your child turn 2 over at a time to see if they match.  Match by color and/or shape. 

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And now for a VERY serious question… is anyone else weirded out by the fact that Christmas is NEXT MONTH?!  Hey hey hey, some of these might make great gift ideas, no?  I think so…