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New to Busy Bags? Have no idea how to start? I am happy to help! It wasn’t long ago I was at a loss as well on which activities will be best for my kid. The first thing I learned is that your Busy Bag must be curated well to fit your child’s interests and development goals to a tee. You can try giving a Busy Bag meant for a pre-schooler to a toddler – but there is a big chance it will frustrate the toddler. Vice-versa, it will probably bore the pre-schooler to find baby-ish toys in his pack. That is why your Busy Bags needs regular updating at least every quarter. The toys do not necessarily have to be new all the time --- some toys and materials you can upcycle to level up along with your child’s skills. These are the key categories I use, and make sure that at least each category is represented per Busy Bag.
Something Visual – We’re talking coloring books, blank paper, coloring pens or crayons, water-reveal drawing pads, picture books or flash cards. Images are very engaging to young children, especially very young ones. You can cut out pics from a glossy magazine and paste it on a cardboard. If you have some skills in drawing, you can challenge your son to name the animal you have drawn and then color it afterwards. This is a very big hit with my son --- perhaps because he also sees me painting and drawing which increased his inclination to make his own little scribbles.
Something Open-Ended – small blocks, stones, toy animal figurines, puppets, wikkisticks, fuzzy wires, etc. It can be as random as paper clips or sticks as well. The point is to let the child discover the object and the very many ways you can play with it. My son was fascinated with a (empty) mini-stapler once and it kept him occupied for hours, under my supervision of course (staplers has got small parts). Open-ended toys encourage creativity and imagination; it opens a child’s minds to possibilities. You will be amazed the stuff they can come up with.
Develops Key Milestones – ask any mom and you would know the pincer grip is a thing. Apparently, the earlier you develop it, the better. So stickers, sticks, straws inserted into holes --- these are all good for hand and eye coordination. Other life skills also include opening zippers, using buttons, lacing shoelaces.
Books – These are ALWAYS part of the bags. 1 or 2 books about animals are a must for my son. We leave the huge board books at home. When we’re on the go, we choose smaller, thinner books like the Indestructibles (see here) which are basically weightless, inflammable, non-tearing, water resistant. As the name suggests, it is almost really Indestructible.
Music & Videos – These would require a tablet or a phone, but as I have mentioned before, we do not ban screen time at home. We use it moderately. When all other options have been exhausted, we let our son watch Nursery Rhymes on a tablet. These are pre-selected and downloaded in YouTube Kids, ready for whenever we need it offline. We also have a Spotify list for him with various artists ranging from Elmo of Sesame Street to Bob Dylan. A Peek Into our BBs (Busy Bags)
Bag 1 (from l to r): plastic eggs, a specialty Quiet Book bought from an online shop called Urban Mom, loopy links (which are useful for hanging stuff too on the stroller or car), a reusable sticker bag, magnetic shapes (Magformers), play dough, thumb chucks (for info on product, see here), and a headphone for listening to his music.
Bag 2: (l-r) a few building blocks, fuzzy wires (to make shapes with), animal finger puppets, Indestructibles book, face crayons (used on the hand, not on the face), a Melissa & Doug Water Wow pad, a homemade stick-in-the-can, light up Neon sticks and shoe laces.
Bag 3: (l-r) a homemade Ribbon Pull toy, another Indestructible book and a local animal book, building blocks, wooden car, lacing beads, a box to slot the letter flash cards into, washable crayons, some coloring pages (not the whole coloring book), bubbles, Koosh ball and a slinky.
Bag 4: (l-r) window jelly stickers, a pull-back action airplane, a pinnochio puppet, a retractable ID holder, Wikkistixx (re-shapeable sticky sticks), toothbrush holder and straws, another pull ribbon toy, a wooden barn with windows that open to show animals, and another couple of books and neon lights.
Bag 5 (l-r):Velcro sticks to make shapes, picture cards, fuzzy wires in a canister, jelly window stickers, a K’s Kids Dress-up Bear that teaches a kid to zip, button, snap and lock, sticky numbers, another airplane, finger puppets, a homemade endless Ribbon pull, and books.
These were my first 5 busy bags for my son --- I have explored since then and learned to make my own stuff to keep my son busy. These days Busy Bags are used at home too as part of a homeschooling experience. My next post will show you what and how I made the paraphernalia to strengthen learning at home. I hope you found something interesting in this post which you could use for your own kids. Let me know which one worked for your family, because every child is different. I wish you luck! Smell ya later,
Bee