Busy Bags
Busy Bags are really simple to make, and they
go a long way to buy you a few extra minutes
when ever you need them!  I first made a set of
these in preparation for our third child to enter
the world.  I had no idea how I was going to
keep my older two children occupied throughout
the day while dealing with a newborn baby.  I
needed something I could give them to do
independently, that wouldn't totally destroy my
house in the process. So I decided to spend a
couple evenings putting together these Busy Bags
for them to play with when I just absolutely need
a minute to do something else.
Busy Bag Ideas

I took a few photos of some of the different activities I
included in our bags.  I've done my best to make them
simple, engaging, and fun.  My children view their Busy Bags
as a treat, and look forward to the surprise activity inside.  
Assembly:

I attached the tags to brown paper lunch sacks with a little bit of glue.  Then depending
on what type of craft or activity was going in the bag, I circled the pictures accordingly.  


I left the upper left-hand corner blank so that I could write in their name, and the number
of the bag.  (I made 30 different bags for each of them, so I wanted a way to keep track
of just what was inside them.  Just make a little notation as you go)
Printable Tags
The first thing I did was make some printable
tags that I could attach to the bags.  That
way they were in full control of gathering the
different supplies they needed. (i.e. I don't
have to do it!)
Button Bracelets

Contents:
Bag of Buttons
Wire

Setup:
Tie one end of the wire to
a button so children can
thread remaining buttons
without them falling off.
Foam Rainbows
Contents:
Pre-Cut Foam
Cotton Balls (clouds)

Setup:
Cut out rainbow shapes
from foam.  (Cut all the
colors the same as the
orange one in the photo,
children can make 5
different rainbows()
Alphabet  Book

Contents:
Construction Paper Book
Foam Letters

Setup:
Make a small construction
paper book with at least
26 pages.
Provide example for the
first couple of pages.  
Children draw in
something for each letter.
Wood Painting

Contents:
Unfinished Wood Carvings

Setup:
None...just make sure
you've got newspaper
handy!  
Balloon Party

Contents:
Balloons

Setup:
None...encourage
children to blow up
balloons and have a
party....in their room.

Contents:
Foam Craft Kit
(Michael's)

Setup:
You can do these with
any of the premade foam
kits that you see at the
craft store!
Origami Exploration

Contents:
Origami Paper
(or construction paper
already cut into squares)

Setup:
Print up some free origami
instructions and include
them in the bag.
Counting Book

Contents:
Foam Numbers
Stickers

Setup:
Make a small minibook
from construction paper.  
Have children put a
number with the same
amount of stickers on a
page.
Share Your Busy Bag Ideas!

Okay, so you get the idea right?  

Want to share your Busy Bag idea?
Email me at:

Valerie (at) TheCraftyClassroom.com

I'll post your idea, or link to your blog!