Busy Bag Swap

I had seen various busy bag ideas on Pinterest, but it was not until my friend Anna told me about a busy bag swap her Atlanta friends hosted that I became interested.  We began to do a little research and decided to plan our own busy bag swap with 10 to 15 ladies focusing on 2-3 year old age range.  

Here is the invitation Anna prepared and sent out via email:

You are invited to a

Source: Second Story Window

Hosted by----------------------

Thursday, April 26th at 7:30pm

Busy Bags are activities that encourage the use of fine motor 

skills to explore everything from colors to numbers and 

sorting to construction while keeping children, well, busy.

Participants will:

* Select a busy bag activity appropriate for 2-3 year olds to share at the swap

* Create around 10 sets (depending on number of participants) of thebusy bag selected

* Attend the swap {or give busy bags to Amber or Anna to swap for you}

* Leave the swap with 10 different busy bag activities for your family

Please email Amber

 by Wednesday, March 21st if you would like to participate.

Once we have a list of participants, we will send out a google document to sign up for specific busy bags to prevent duplicate activities

We would LOVE 10-15 women to participate, so please feel free to invite a friend to come along with you!

Here is a link to see examples of busy bag activities!   

We had 11 women sign up and were able to host the gathering in my home, swapping bags and enjoying mom talk last Thursday evening.  I am disappointed that I did not take a photo of the group, but here are photos of the 11 activities we exchanged and the links to the blogs that describe how to make and use (in case it is not self explanatory) them.

1.  Whitney created I Spy In A Bottle found on Grow the blog.

2.  Carolina created Pom Pom in a Box found on Fun and Engaging Activities for Toddlers

3.  I created Spin and Spell found on Michelle's Charm World

4.  Mandie created Matching Color Shades found on Tot School

5.  Betsy created Homemade Number Boards found on Crafts-N-Things for Children

6.  Lindsey created Shapes + Colors Memory Game found on [dandee] A Happily Crafted Life

7.  Christa created the Craft Stick Puzzle found on Motherhood on a Dime

8.  Rebecca created Lulu the Ladybug Felt Game found on her blog Southern Bliss

9.  Katharine created Popsicle Stick Shapes found on Chasing Cheerios

10.  Anna created Pool Noodle Lacing found on Planet of the Apels

11.  Rebecca created the Felt Rainbow found on Play Create Explore

So far B has enjoyed playing with the Pom Pom Box, the I Spy Bottle, and the Felt Rainbow.  All of these activities are great additions to our current busy bags that are composed of a foam puzzle, finger puppets, and stickers.

We most frequently use our busy bags when we go out to dinner.  I usually take 2-3 bags (which always include stickers and two small containers of Play-doh) and that works wonders when B starts getting bored.  It buys us a lot of time and has allowed us to enjoy many sit down dinners that would have been cut short otherwise.

10 Pre-Toddler (12-18 Month) Activities

Links to Toddler (18-24 Month) Activiites

• Toddler Activity #1: Flip Top Lid Fun
• Toddler Activity #2: Make Your Own Character Match Up Blocks
• Toddler Activity #3: Play Time in the SINK
• Toddler Activity #4: Make Your Own Bathtub Paint (a Pinterest Idea)
• Toddler Activity #5: Counting with Bowls
• Toddler Activity #6: Paper Towel Roll Downhill Slide
• Toddler Activity #7: Colors and Sorting
• Toddler Activity #8:  Sensory Play While Reading
• Toddler Activity #9:  Play-doh Creations