How to keep a toddler busy so you can actually get stuff done! Cheap and easy busy bag ideas that will save your sanity and let you be more productive! Adventures in Mindful Living

How to keep a toddler busy so you can actually get stuff done! Cheap and easy ideas that will save your sanity and let you be more productive! Adventures in Mindful Living

 

 Busy Bags – How to Keep a Toddler Busy So You Can Get Stuff Done!

busybags

Having a toddler in the house is an adventure on its own. Our current toddler is what some would call a spit fire. She is bright, active, strong willed, curious, and sometimes moody. She is in essence a typical toddler. While I love all of her traits, keeping her occupied is not always easy. I am a big fan of free play and playing independently, but those concepts seem to not fit in with what she has in mind for the day sometimes. I notice this particularly when I am trying to do some school work with the kids, trying to focus on a new recipe, cook dinner, write a blog post, or even just sweep the kitchen floor. That is when she seems to come out of nowhere get into everything, make a huge mess, or do something dangerous, and then have a melt down and start proclaiming everything around her as “mines”. If you do not have a toddler “mines” means what you have, that you thought was yours is actually mine and you better give it to me now.  (Please know that I don’t give into the “mines” but having to stop and deal with it takes a lot of energy and time sometimes.)

I can’t just stop what I am doing and focus solely on her. There are times that will work and times when I have to get certain things done. The other people in this house also needed to get things done.  My problem was what can I give her to do when I can’t focus in on her. What can keep her safely busy and engage her natural sense of curiosity?

My answer- Busy Bags!

What are busy bags?

Busy bags are little self-contained educational activities that are easy to pull out when you need a few uninterrupted minutes.

Does that sound like something that would help you?

I took some pictures of what I put in my busy bags so you can get some ideas that may work for your child. I have a busy bag swap that I am going to in a week and I will take pictures of what I get there too.

I should point out that I have two areas that she can use her busy bags in. One is at the kitchen table. I use this area when I am cooking, cleaning, or doing school with the kids. The other area I have is right beside my desk. She has her own little desk beside mine. Having this desk right beside me has let me write countless blog post! It is also great when my son needs to do school on my computer she can also play at that desk without interrupting him.

A couple more notes about the busy bags-

I picked up my busy bag items at different places. Michael’s has some great things there, and so did the dollar store. I also got some out of target’s dollar bins. Walmart is a great place to find some cheap supplies and goodies to fill the bags.

These were just beginning activities for my busy bags. I hope to start incorporating some more educational activities into them.

You can spend as much time and efforts on these as you want! Start with a few and slowly build up your stash!  Or throw a busy bag swap and work together with other moms to get some! I’ll add some links at the bottom to help you do that if you are interested. I hope to host a busy bag swap in the future. I was just blessed enough to have another great mom in my local homeschool group who decided to host one exactly when I needed it the most! God works in amazing ways sometimes!

I did a couple of things before I loaded my busy bags and I thought I would share them with you too.

The first thing I did was hit up Walmart back to school sales! You can get markers, crayons, colored pencils, and etc for pretty cheap during this sale. I always stock up during this time of year. I found these two carrying bins to keep the coloring supplies in. I already had the blue one. I previously kept paint in it but I switched those to another area so I could use what I already had and not spend more than I needed too. She has one at each area.

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I also made a few things for the busy bags instead of buying the more expensive ones I saw online or at the store. The lacing cards and colored noodles are an example of that. I also usually make my own play dough but my parents had just bought my daughter a couple of tubs so I just used those . I am sure I will soon be making more as play dough doesn’t last long around here.

For the lacing cards I used some ABC flashcards that I had been given. I punched holes around the edges with a single hole punch so she could lace through them without messing up the cards in case I wanted to use them in the future. That worked with the heavy duty flashcards. The other regular flashcards ( that you can get at the dollar store or in targets dollar bins if you keep your eyes peeled for them) needed to be sturdier to work good. I simply poured glue on the back of the card ,whichever side I wasn’t going to use, and glued them to some used file folders I had. Once dry I cut them out and then punched holes in them. They worked great after that. I only did 3 at a time so when she starts to get bored with these then I will do D, E, F.

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I also made some colored pasta. I saw this idea on another site and tried it out on a smaller scale. I used small ziploc bags and just a tablespoon of alcohol. It worked great for me. I wish I had more colors but I had used up most of my other food coloring with cupcakes and playdough earlier this year. now that I know it works good I’ll buy some more food coloring and make some more.

How to dye pasta link- click here

I found these noodles at Go Grocery for 79 cents
I found these noodles at Go Grocery for 79 cents
First I put the noodles in separate bags.I used small ziploc bags.
First I put the noodles in separate bags.I used small ziploc bags.
I put a few drops of food coloring in each bag and then the tablespoon of rubbing alcohol.
I put a few drops of food coloring in each bag and then the tablespoon of rubbing alcohol.
I sealed them and then shook them a little to get everything mixed up inside the bags. I left them for a couple of hours in the bags.
I sealed them and then shook them a little to get everything mixed up inside the bags. I left them for a couple of hours in the bags.
This is what they looked like when I poured them out of the bags. I kept them in these rows so the noodles wouldnt mix colors. They were wet when they came out of the bags. I let them air dry for a day before I put them in a big bag together.
This is what they looked like when I poured them out of the bags. I kept them in these rows so the noodles wouldn’t mix colors. They were wet when they came out of the bags. I let them air dry for a day before I put them in a big bag together.

Once I had all of the above done I laid out all the thing I had purchased and had made on my dinning room table so I could easily load up the bags. Do this when your little one is asleep, trust me it will go better that way!

Here is what  I currently have in our bags. Please keep in mind my little one is not putting things in her mouth anymore so you will see things that could be choking hazards. Use your own discretion when packing your busy bags.

You will see these in some of the pictures so I wanted to explain what they were.

I got these at Michaels for $1. They are plastic yarn needles. They cam in a pack of 2. I had 2 different kinds of string that I attached to them. I used a piece of tape to "tie" them to the needle so it would slide off. When I trie dot tie them or knot them they wouldnt fit through my holes I had punched very easily.
I got these at Michaels for $1. They are plastic yarn needles. They came in a pack of 2. I had 2 different kinds of string that I attached to them. I used a piece of tape to “tie” them to the needle so it would slide off. When I tried to tie them or knot them they wouldn’t fit through my holes I had punched very easily.

This is what is currently in our Busy Bags

these are the lacing cards I had made
these are the lacing cards I had made

 

This is the heavy duty ABC flash card that I punched holes in for a lacing card
This is the heavy duty ABC flash card that I punched holes in for a lacing card

 

This is one of her favorites!The top has holes in it that she would stick the toothpicks in.I have seen some people use parmesan cheese containers too but I didn't have any so I found this pretty red one at our dollar store.
This is one of her favorites!The top has holes in it that she would stick the toothpicks in.I have seen some people use parmesan cheese containers too but I didn’t have any so I found this pretty red one at our dollar store.
In this bag I put some of the colored pasta. I also put some pipe cleaners and a plastic yarn needle with some string.
In this bag I put some of the colored pasta. I also put some pipe cleaners and a plastic yarn needle with some string.
to see how I use these see the next picture
to see how I use these see the next picture

 

you can cut the pipe cleaners in half so they wont be so long. My daughter loves sticking the little beads on the pipe cleaners.
you can cut the pipe cleaners in half so they won’t be so long. My daughter loves sticking the little beads on the pipe cleaners.

 

I found these dot makers at my local dollar store. They use them in bingo too but I had seen them on several preschool blogs. They use them for all those dot pictures.My daughter just likes to make dots everywhere.
I found these dot makers at my local dollar store. They use them in bingo too but I had seen them on several preschool blogs. They use them for all those dot pictures.My daughter just likes to make dots everywhere.

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I found these at our local dollar store. They are reusable,wipeable placemats. You can color on them and then just wipe them off. They are great at a restaurant but they also work great in my busy bags too!
I found these at our local dollar store. They are reusable,wipeable placemats. You can color on them and then just wipe them off. They are great at a restaurant but they also work great in my busy bags too!
I picked these coloring books for $1 different places. I don't keep them in a bag but I do keep them with the rest of the bags
I picked these coloring books for $1 different places. I don’t keep them in a bag but I do keep them with the rest of the bags
I found these stamp pads and stamps at Michaels. They are big and easy for her to use
I found these stamp pads and stamps at Michaels. They are big and easy for her to use
My daughter loves to play with these pipe cleaners and beads
My daughter loves to play with these pipe cleaners and beads

 

These little beads I found at Michaels in their clearance section. They snap together but my daughter can not do that yet. But she does just enjoy playing with them so I left them in our busy bags otherwise I would have put them up for later.
These little beads I found at Michaels in their clearance section. They snap together but my daughter can not do that yet. But she does just enjoy playing with them so I left them in our busy bags otherwise I would have put them up for later.
My sister gave me these several months ago. My daughter loves them.
My sister gave me these several months ago. My daughter loves them.

Remember you don’t have to buy everything for your busy bags! You can just go around your home and collect up things you think your child will really like!

I found this preschool workbook at a yard sale for 50 cents! I rip out the pages and put them inside clear plastic sheet protectors. I do this with coloring sheets too. I let my daughter use low odor white board markers. When she is done I simply wipe off and she can reuse them!
I found this preschool workbook at a yard sale for 50 cents! I rip out the pages and put them inside clear plastic sheet protectors. I do this with coloring sheets too. I let my daughter use low odor white board markers. When she is done I simply wipe off and she can reuse them!
I had bought these large colorful buttons for a sewing project for my oldest daughter. My youngest daughter now loves to play with them. She stacks them and slides them onto pipe cleaners.
I had bought these large colorful buttons for a sewing project for my oldest daughter. My youngest daughter now loves to play with them. She stacks them and slides them onto pipe cleaners.

Once I go to this busy bag swap next week I’ll have more to add to my stash! Storage of the busy bags for me is just  a plastic bin for the ones that stay next to the kitchen table, and a empty almond milk box I found at our local Aldis. I used it to carry all my groceries out to the car and when I got it home I noticed it would fit perfectly on the shelf by my computer desk. Here is a picture of what all my bags look like when they are in their storage bins.

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I hope this gives you some good inspiration about what you could put in your own busy bags!

There are lots of videos on YouTube too, and you can always Google busy bag ideas if you need some more ideas! If you know any good links about busy bags or if you have written a blog post about busy bags please feel free to put your links in my comment section so we can all learn from each other!

Would you like a $25 Amazon gift card to buy some fun stuff for your busy bags? Or would you just like a $25 gift card to order something you really want? Make sure to enter the giveaway below! Just click on the link and follow the directions for the giveaway!

Click here to enter – $25 Amazon gift card

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Busy Bags- How to keep a toddler busy so you can get stuff done!

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9 COMMENTS

  1. That is awesome! I wish I would have seen some of those ideas when I was teaching preschool! (and when mine were that age) I think I can use the worksheet in the plastic sheet protectors with my son  though! You got me thinking about making a “bigger kid” version of these projects for my son to keep him busy when I need to get other things done.

    • Thats a great idea! I have used the clear plastic sheet protectors for math before and it worked really great. I could use some for my older child too. Maybe some Lego challenges and things like that? I would love to see what you come up with!

  5. Oh perfect! I am definitely going to make a few of these for my rambunctious little two year old. As a work at home mom, it’s super hard to get much of anything done and I always feel bad when I tell him that I can’t play right now. Thanks for the idea!!

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