Busy Bag Swap (12-24 Months)

In a moment of Pinterest-like inspiration, I organized a busy bag swap with some friends. What are busy bags, you may ask? 

Busy bags are simple, age-appropriate learning activities for babies/toddlers that are stored in gallon zip-lock bags. They can be anything, really, but the basic characteristics is that they are:

- Self-Contained (meaning, you can just grab a ziplock bag and go -- you don't have to add in other supplies to make it useful)
- Transportable (so they can be used in waiting rooms, the airport, car rides, etc., as well as at home)
- Convenient (no major set-up or clean-up)
- Inexpensive/easy to make
- Re-usable (avoid activities where you have to "restock" -- this is where lamination can be helpful!)

There are lots of Busy Bag ideas out there, but most are designed for older kids. I invited friends who had babies currently under 1 year (or who are pregnant) to make bags targeted toward toddlers ages 12-24 months.

There were 11 of us in the swap, so we each made 11 duplicates of the same activity. Thus, we each ended up with 11 different activities. I am super impressed with the creativity from the women in the swap.

Here's what everyone came up with (Sorry, some of the pictures are upside down and I am too lazy to correct them):

Julie made 12 "texture cards" -- craft foam with different textures glued on. 

(P.S. Luke is OBSESSED with these cards. Yesterday I stuck him in the kitchen pack 'n play with these and he played independently for 15 minutes while I prepped dinner. That is unheard of for Luke!)

Lindsay made a "piggy bank" with poker chips and a (clean) pint-sized ice-cream container with a slit in it. Great for fine motor skills development.


 

 Chelsea made an adorable mini felt board -- she freehand cut those fish. I would never be able to do that!





 Elissa made a cute button snake to practice fine motor skills. Each of the felt squares has a slit in it that you can thread through the "snake":



Britni made 5 "sensory bottles," each with a different theme. They're like snow globes, only cooler!

 And, because you can't have too much sensory fun at this age, Jocelyn made sensory "squish" bags (it is squishy because of hair gel): 

Lynleigh came up with a sponge-curler game:

Ali made adorable "Ollie Blocks" -- It comes in a set of 3, and each block had 6 options for the the head, the body and the feet.

Erin made a counting wheel with clothespins:

Jenny made a laminated flip-book, like these:

Finally, I made a magnetic fishing game with stiff felt pieces. I was going to try to cut actual fish shapes like [this], but I ran out of time. It is much easier to cut/sew straight lines!


 


 We had the swap at our house on Thursday and it was fun to see all of the great activities. Someone commented that it was a bit like Christmas or Halloween, because after someone would explain their activity they would go around and put one in each of our big grocery bags to take home. I would definitely be up for another Busy Bag swap next fall!