toddler “busy bag” swap!
**UPDATE: Check out Toddler “Busy Bag” Swap, Take Two! for 20 more new activities!
This post could also be properly entitled: My Winter Survival Kit!
This past week, I hosted a Toddler “Busy Bag” Swap in my home for a group of my friends after deciding that I needed a little help keeping my toddler busy when we are snowed-in this winter (not to mention for the times when I will be busy caring for his new little brother!).
I assigned each woman a different toddler activity to replicate 20 times (storing each activity in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag). We all met over dessert and then swapped our activities with one another. I thoroughly enjoyed watching each mom carry a huge bag filled with 20 different activities to their car! I plan to keep Sam’s “Busy Bag” stashed away until the wintertime and then slowly introduce one activity at a time.
Each activity needed to meet the following criteria:
- Self-contained. This way, you can just grab a bag and GO! (without having to add a number of supplies to the bag in order to make it useful.)
- Transportable. Yes, they will definitely be used at home, but I want to be able to grab a few bags to take to a restaurant, a waiting room, plane trips, car rides, etc.
- Convenient. None of the bags will have supplies that require major set-up or clean-up: (no paint, watercolors, liquids, sand, dirt, etc.)
- Inexpensive. I didn’t want anyone spending too much money on this project!
- Easy to Make: I didn’t want anyone spending hours and hours and hours making their activity.
- Re-usable. I want these activities to last a while so that our other children can use them in the future. Therefore, I avoided activities where you would have to buy new supplies to re-stock the bag. This is why lamination is important for some of the activities.
I’ve posted pictures of the activities we swapped along with the corresponding links to give you a more detailed explanation of each activity. I am sharing this here in case you are interested in coordinating a swap for you and your friends. I already know of another group at our church planning a swap very soon, so hopefully these links could be of some help!
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Special thanks to all of the women who participated: Catherine, Melissa, Megan, Emily, Debby, Crystal, Kristin, Mandy, Jenna, Rachel K., Rachel M., Stephanie, Julie, Sarah, Molly, Karla, and Chelsi!
You all did an incredible job!
the rigneys 
Preschool teachers would love to copy all this creativity!
I am one…and, why yes, I will. 🙂
Holy. Cow.
Girl, I just found your blog and this post is GOLD. I will be replicating! What an amazing idea.
Copying as well!! Thank you for your extremely smart ideas!! 🙂
Jenny! This is why yours is the only blog I check regularly. Reading this makes me want to brave those winters so I can live near you!! I’ll have to settle for totally copying this idea.
So. Very. Excited.
You are amazing.
If someone asked me this week how I was able to homeschool my oldest three I would answer- toddler activity bags!! I love how colorful each activity is. I love the popsicle stick puzzle. I love everything with paint chips. And magnetic pompoms?? On a map?!? That combines two of my favorite things! Oh my.
Jenny, this is so great! I wish I had been able to participate!
I wish you could have too, Jenn!
Wow! Love all of the ide ideas. Thanks for sharing! Found this on Pinterest.
Wow! What a fun idea. I am so glad you were able to use some ideas from my blog. Thanks for the links. I really love that button snake idea too. I hadn’t seen something like that before.
Love these! Thank you for giving me so many ideas!
Do you happen to know where I could get a template for the rainbow and seven continent map? A friend of mine is hosting a similar event (fabulous idea by the way) and I’d love to replicate the magnetic pom pom one. Thank you!!
Such an awesome idea! I love them all and may make some for my baby neph!
What a great idea! I love it!
Wow! I just stumbled accross your ideas on pinterest. What a life saver! I have been pullling my hair out trying to survive a brutal first trimester in the Arizona heat while keeping a busy 22 month old entertained. Thank you so much for sharing these ideas….running to the store for supplies NOW!
We have a busy bag swap set up for October now! Thanks for the fun, fun, fun idea.
Oh my goodness, Jenny! We just finished our busy bag swap and I wish we would have seen some of these fun activities on your blog!! (If it had only been a month or so earlier!) WE enjoyed Minneapolis while we were there last month! Thanks for the tips!!
This is such a great post!! I’m posting a link to my blog so I don’t lose it!! Our surprise blessing is only 11 months, but I know we’ll need these ideas soon enough…. I’ll assign my crafty 10 year old these busy bags this winter!! Thanks for sharing!
Great ideas – thanks for the inspiration!
I’m so excited to have all these ideas in one place – what richness – Thank You! But was wondering if you could explain the I Spy fish a little bit? The link doesn’t seem to tell the fish specifically.
I am wondering about the I Spy fish as well……..Can you say more about it?
These are all so fanastic!! I can’t wait to make them for my 3 yr old!!
Great ideas!
did they make the template for the rainbow and the continents? i am attempting to do this craft and need some guidance 🙂
love these ideas!
Fantastic ideas!! Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to make a few of these for my g-daughter.
Awesome, awesome, AWESOME! I can’t wait to do this! I’m actually a little excited for winter now 🙂
THANK YOU!!!
This is so great! I am totally going to host a swap now! Thanks for all the links and pics…that will make it sooo much easier!! Thanks!!
Excellent activities and love the swap idea!
I love this idea! Thank you for sharing!
Great ideas!!! I made my own color matching w/clothespins and linked it back to your blog. =)
I’m actually planning a swap like this with some of my friends. What great ideas for activities!
Found this post through Pinterest, and LOVE it! We just did a night similar to this after seeing your ideas, and we each went home with 13 different busy bags!! Thanks!! 🙂
Thanks for sharing ur fun project they are so fun & perfect for the those cold days outside…
Thanks for sharing! A group of 10 friends just came over tonight and we had a swap bag party from your ideas! So much fun!
Thanks so much for this idea!!! My daughter is developmentally delayed and these activities are PERFECT for her!!:)
love it
These are great ideas!! I’ve been needing some busy (but quiet) activities for church, especially now that I have a 4-year old on one side, a 2-year old on the other, and a baby in my lap! (and my husband in the pulpit!). Thanks for sharing.
this is an amazing blog! thank you so much for sharing your creative ideas……so appreciated!
I really like your projects. Thanks for sharing them!
Hey Jenny,
Just to let you know, I am organising a busy bag swap at my home church in Virginia, so don’t be surprised if you get some random visits to your blog from there. I just needed a good post that showed the idea of busy bags! We also might do some of your activities too.
🙂
How do I get involved?
brilliant. one of my friends found this and we are going to do one too. such a genius idea and just in time to appease MY toddler after his new sibling arrives
Hi! Thanks for sharing these activities! I used some of them in a busy bag exchange I recently hosted with some friends. I shared your activities and our swap on my blog. http://sstorywindow.blogspot.com/2011/10/toddler-time-busy-bag-series-part-2.html
I could kiss you right now! I am 37 weeks pregnant, and have a 2 year old that will be spending LOTS of time indoors once the snow hits and you have just saved my life AND sanity!
These are SO simple and easy to make, and I have a lot of what’s already needed in my craft room!
Is ther any way I could get the pattern for the “i spy” goldfish? I am dying to make this for my son and niece for christmas.
Seriously great post. I will be linking here for sure! So many good ideas. Thank you!
This is wonderful!! I wish I’d known about busy bags when my boys ( now 9 1/2 and 5) were younger! I’m collecting patterns and supplies now though, so that they can make some for their two year old sister for Christmas! I have a question…in the mini felt board (great idea!) is there something between the layers of felt? Thin cardboard or batting? It kind of looks like that from the picture. Thanks so much!!
This is fabulous! I have some fun toddler activity ideas too, but most of these were new for me. Thank you!
My friends and I are totally copying this after the holidays are over. 🙂 Thanks for sharing such wonderful ideas!!
Thanks for the inspiration. Here’s my swap! http://mycraftblogs.blogspot.com/2011/11/busy-bag-swap.html
Such wonderful ideas! I’m going to use ALL of these for my preschooler.
We are having our swap this weekend, thanks so much for the inspiration. I’ve written about our family’s contribution here:
http://www.cubitsorganics.com/2011/11/diy-felted-wool-balls-for-busy-toddlers.html
These are fabulous, fun and educational ideas! I am a home-based educator for parents with special needs infants and toddlers. I will be sharing these ideas with all my parents! I will also be making them for my own grandchildren! Thanks for sharing your creative ideas with everyone!
The link for the I Spy Fish goes to an I Spy board instead of a bag filled with fun stuff. Do you happen to know where I could find the info on the cute fish bag?? Thanks!
I wish I had that many friends (or even half that many!) and a large enough house to hold them! I am so jealous! How do you do it?
Oh my. These are FANTASTIC ideas! SO simple. I’m a homeschooling mom and these are just the thing I need to keep my preschooler occupied while I teach the older ones. THANK YOU!!!
I came across this via Pinterest…on “Through the Eyes of the Mrs.” facebook page today. I LOVE the variety of activities you have here. I have a 3 1/2 yr old and these are going to be perfect for him! We are going to have so much fun with these, he loves to play “school”.
Thank you for sharing! I can’t wait to spend some time looking around =).
I LOVE these ideas. I really would like to know about the I Spy fish, but the link goes to Chasing Cheerios and making an I Spy page…not a fish. Do you have a link to the fish project?
http://brandyscrafts.blogspot.com/2011/02/dry-erase-i-spy-bag-tutorial.html
Here is a link for an “I Spy” bag, similar idea, just have to change the shape.
We just had a swap in our mom’s group using your idea. It turned out amazing! Thank you!
LOVE all of these awesome ideas! I am totally copying this for my son! Thanks for sharing this information!
Really great suggestions! Thanks for posting!!
This is such a cool and helpful idea.
Found this through Pinterest. Just wanted to comment about the “I spy” fish. My children and I did something similar 2 days ago. We used an empty ketchup bottle (because it was plastic) and filled it with rice and “littles”. I’m taking it a step further and making some portable ones in empty spice containers (my sis-in-law’s idea). We just name something and shake it for the next person to find. The kids loved it!
I just love this page. I am making a quiet book for my grandson for his 3rd birthday, but love some of the ideas here so will also make him a “busy bag”. I would also like to thank the contributors to this project. You are quite creative.
I’m thankful for mothers, like yourself, who are so generous with their fantastic ideas and who share their experiences!
So many amazing ideas! Thanks all!
Just went to a party this morning based on your post, it was sooooo fun!! Posted about it on my blog leviandjessicaduckett.blogspot.com and linked to you page a few times!! Thanks for the great idea!!
Here is the link to the map for the pom poms, HTH!
Please forgive my bad english : I’m teacher in France (in somewhat is your “pre-school”) and I like a lot of your idea for my little students. Thank you.
LOVE the number pinwheel, counting idea!
I love all of these ideas! Thank you for sharing! Found you on Pinterest.
Love the sorting and lacing pasta!
These are all great ideas–thanks for sharing them! I shared a link to this page on my blog today. http://auroraspitfire.blogspot.com/2012/03/rainy-monday-silliness.html
I remember having interactive felt board stories told in Sunday school and am looking for these activities for my grandchildren, 3 1/2, 2 1/2 and 9 mos. thank you, Melinda
I love this!!!!!! I have a childcare in my home with lost of little onces and these are great ideas. I have seen some but it is nice to see other versions of them. Awesome job and what a wonderful way to share ideas with other parents. Now I have to get to work and make some of them myself. THANK YOU. :0)
Oops!. I don’t have lost children or onces. Just lots of little ones. Thank you again. :0)
Hi Jen,
I just attended a busy bag swap that was modeled after yours and was putting a blog post together about them. First of all, let me just say the way you photographed the busy bags makes them seem so much more appealing than a lot of other sites I’ve seen. Second of all, I was wondering if I could get your permission to use your bullet listing of criteria in my blog post. I will of course provide proper attribution within the post, it’s just that you said it better than I could : )
Thank you for the inspiration!
Of course!
These all look great! I love that the don’t take much to make.
I found this site because a friend put together a group for Toddler Busy Bags and is using your blog as examples of what can be done. My question to you though is … did you make the fabric/cloth Alphabet in your photo across the top? If so, please email me (kimberley@theirbirthright.org) what you used for the ‘thickness’ in between. Thanks.
I love every single one of these ideas. As a home daycare provider and mother of an almost 3 year old I am so grateful for this list.
Reblogged this on In the shape of a girl. and commented:
THIS IS AMAZING, by the way. The cure for a rainy day! I can’t wait to get started.
This is AWESOME! I will have an 18 month old this coming winter and these are some really great ideas to get together over the summer! Thank you!
I’m an OT and I love your ideas. Thanks to all you wonderfully creative ladies!!
All your activities are amazing and fabulous…….THANKS FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS
I love this! I will be making many of these for my grandson to keep him calm in church. He will only get to play with these items during church in his busy bag, so maybe they will be special. Thanks for sharing. I will be following your blog now. 🙂
Where did you find the string for your lacing cards? I just looked all over Micheal’s and couldn’t find any. 😦
I am also looking for the string/shoelace for the lacing cards
Just spent a day with my 2 yr. old grandson. I am so ready to make more of these. I’ve already done the matching paint samples with clothspins. SO cute. I’m getting ready for a long car trip with this little one & 4 adults. What a help this will be. I was sleepy but not anymore!
What a fantastic idea!! Love these and how fun to do it with a group of friends!! Would love to set one up with my friends!
Oh my goodness! YOU are AMAZING!!! Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou for sharing these amazing ideas! That would be hard for me to do. Share something like that for others to copy but honestly? I’ve been looking for ways to help my little boy grow and you seriously inspire me! THANKYOU!
Could you tell me where you printed your matching/memory game pictures from? The link doens’t provide the printable that you posted in your picture and I love it! Thank you for putting this together – great ideas that I am using already. Winter here we come!
Thank you!!! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas!! I really appreciate that there are so many creative women out there (and REALLY appreciate that you are willing to share your ideas and talents with the rest of us moms trying to figure things out!)
I was excited to uncover this great site. I want to to thank you for ones time due to this fantastic read!! I definitely savored every part of it and i also have you book marked to look at new stuff in your website.
In your Mini Reversible Felt Board, did you use something between the felt to make it more sturdy?
These are AMAZING craft ideas, low cost, upcycling/recycling/reusing! It is a gold mine. Thank you everyone – I see handcrafted Kwanzaa present ideas for every little one on my list…even some of the big ones!
Could you let me know where you printed your matching/memory game pictures from? The link doens’t provide the printable that you posted in your picture and I really love it!
Love it all!!!
So many cute ideas. Love the popsicle stick puzzles. Really love that you made it a joint activity to share with friends and now everyone is prepared for long winter days.
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Thanks,Saul
Hi My suggesting I really enjojed your own activity. Thanks, Ruth
I love this page. Very inspirational and I will be stealing many ideas. Just one thing! The matching button shapes puzzle. You matched the circle with the flower and the flower with the circle. Palms are itching as my OCD kicks in LOL
Great ideas!!
this is awesome! I’ve never heard of such a thing! I can’t wait to try out these & have a swap too!!
Jenny! I was looking for busy bag ideas because I’m homeschooling Silas this year and am looking for ideas for to keep Charles (18 months) busy. I just saw this on pinterest and had no idea it was your blog! What a great idea to have a busy bag party! Hope y’all are doing well…
Brynn
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These are great. I love them and so do my sons. Awesome ideas, u guys are so creative. Thank u for keeping my little ones busy. Wish I knew ppl who would do a swap, so I can attend.
I know this is an old post, but I just have to comment that these are wonderful ideas! We are planning a cross country road trip in a few week with our two year old, and I will definitely be making some of these for him. Thank you for sharing!
Hey! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog.
Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal buut I can figure things out pretty quick.
I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure
where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions?
Cheers
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