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Busy Bag Exchange

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I recently did a busy bag exchange with a group of girls in my neighborhood.  It was such a hit that we did it twice!    Our exchange was toddler themed, but they will work for preschoolers as well.  Some, my seven-year-old even loved.

Busy Bag Ideas

How to Host a Busy Bag Exchange:

If you have never heard of a busy bag, or an exchange, for that matter, let me explain!  A busy bag is a small, easily transportable quiet play object for children.  It is something that you could take with you on errands, or that they could use to play with at home, in a restaurant, in a doctor’s office, at church- anywhere that you may need to keep them entertained.

What we did for the exchange was gather a group of people who want to participate- we decided to keep it at 12 people.  Then each person makes- or buys- an item for all 12 people.  Then you meet together to exchange them and explain each item.    All of these items are very low cost and simple to make.

Here are the items I received for my exchange:
button snake- busy bag

I made a button snake.  This is a very simple project & has been VERY well loved by my little girl.  I got some grosgrain ribbon and sewed a large button on one end and a square of felt on the other.  Then I cut out a bunch of felt shapes in various colors. In the center of the shapes cut a slit that is large enough to button onto the ribbon.

This is a little pattern matching game that goes along with the Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
There are tons of these kinds of printables out there.  She laminated them & used Velcro dots to attach the pictures.

matching animals- busy bags
Here is another Eric Carle one, this goes with the book Brown Bear. These pictures came from 1 + 1 + 1 = 1, but she has since changed the graphics, so I don’t think you can get these ones we have anymore.  You could do this with any pictures- just cut them in half and laminate for durability.
magnets and paper clips- busy bags
I absolutely loved this one.  These are jumbo craft sticks with magnet strips glued on.  She said she got the sticky backed magnets, but they didn’t hold on very well and glued them on.  Then get some jumbo colored paper clips.  They can sort colors or make any kinds of patterns with the paper clips.
color matching, busy bag
This one uses laminated paint chips and clothes pins.  Glue a small strip of color onto the clothes pin and the kids match up the colors.
busy bag idea
This one is just laminated colored sheets of paper.  Before laminating she drew the grid on the papers.  With craft foam stickers, she made little patterns on them.  On the opposite side, the kids use the other pieces to match the patterns.  Or they can use the blank ones to create their own.
lacing- busy bag
This one is pretty self explanatory-  lacing strings with beads.  Simple, but always lots of fun!  We love these big alphabet beads!
magnets , busy bags
These are printable magnet pages. You can find these at Making Learning Fun.  She got colored pompoms and glued little magnet pieces on the back.  These you can use on a small cookie sheet or a magnet board.
busy bag- geoboard
This one is a geoboard with craft loops.  The girl who made this made all of the grids with pictures and numbers, but Making Learning Fun also has some printable geoboard patterns that you can use.
busy ideas for toddlers
This is another cute one for younger kids- you get an old plastic container and cut holes into the top.  The kids push pompoms or pipe cleaners through the holes
playdoh busy bag
We also got some homemade play dough with a few little accessories.
chalk board busy bag
And finally we got a little chalk board and chalk.  You can find little things like this at the dollar store.
Want a few more fun ideas to put into your busy bag?  Check out my Snowflake Felt Board & Perler Bead Tangrams.
Homemade Gingerbread Houses
One Grain of Rice- Math Activities

Comments

  3. OneMommy says

    What great ideas! I never thought of a little bag to keep them busy places like that. I usually just bring crayons and paper. So cool! I love the Eric Carle ones!

    Reply

  9. Andrea says

    I’ve been looking for some new busy bag ideas, and these are awesome! Thanks! Nicole, you asked about the Eric Carle pattern…I found the site those came from http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/ But she doesn’t have the original Eric Carle anymore. I wonder if it was a license issue. However, that site has a lot of cool free printables!

    Reply

  10. Anna says

    Do you know that I still haven’t created busy bags? This needs to be on my to do list before the next baby comes (I’ve got 5 months :)). I love these, Karyn, and shared them as part of the KBN Shout Out (I’m a little behind!). (Anna @ The Measured Mom)

    Reply

  12. Tisha says

    I know this is an older post but I just found it and am loving it!! I am making a busy bag for a 7 year old. Do you have any suggestions?

    Reply

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