busy bags....

Recently my friends and I tried this great idea we "borrowed" from some mommy bloggers. And it is a GREAT idea for all nanny groups big or small. 

Google Busy Bags and you will get a whole bunch of ideas for these homemade bags of fun! The idea is that they are simple activities that are made that kids can do with some direction or on their own. Preferably they will become self sufficient with them even if at first they need help. 

Bags range in complexity from simple matching games or letter activities to more complex math games etc.. They are hopefully self checking so that kids can see the correct answer themselves. 

Now you could make busy bags yourself and many people do. But it can get pricey and can be a lot of work to make individual bags. To get a whole bunch of bags fast- we organized a swap. 

Each person in the swap makes 2 different kinds of bags. We started an email thread so we could tell everyone as we picked which bags we were making. Then we made bags for each person participating. In our group there were 7 people, we each made 2 different bags and 7 of each so we all walked away with 14 different great bags!! 

I keep the bags in a drawer in the kitchen and the Caterpillar (my 2 year old) begs to do them. I introduced them one at a time and made sure that she understood each bag's activity before starting on the next one. Now she can get out something fun while I tidy the kitchen or while we are waiting for mom to come home. 

Our favorite bags are the iSpy rice bottle, the fishing game, the hanging clothes game and the letter matching cards. We still haven't tried all the games we have!! 

I can't wait to do this again. It was fun and cost effective- for about $50 we got the materials and walked away with so many great and fabulous learning activities that are great for transition times, waiting times and independent play. 

Let me know if you have done this or if you want to try!!! 

Here are some great links! 

Walking by the way Blog
Motherhood on a Dime
Money Saving Mom

AND here is a link to my pinterest board where I have loads more ideas!! 

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