Counting Cards

This is another really easy busy bag to make.  You can use card stock, index cards, construction paper, or whatever you want.  You draw a numeral (or use a sticker like I did) on one set of the cards and draw pictures or use stickers on the other set of cards.  The goal is to get your child to count and match the cards together correctly.  I only made this set up to five but you can go as high as you would like.  Also, you could add a set where the number is spelled out (i.e. one, two, three, etc.).

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Bottle Top Matching Game

This is one of the easiest busy bags I've ever made and you can make so many variations it's amazing!  First, I throughly cleaned the bottle top lids and let them dry.  Then I placed matching round stickers on the caps.  That's it.  With younger toddlers you can play a simple matching game to see if they can identify which ones have the same picture.  With older toddlers you can turn over the caps and play the memory game.  So simple, and so fun!

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DIY I Spy Book

First, let me state up front that I know I am not good at photography.  We have a really nice DSLR (or something or another).  My husband can tell you all about it because he enjoys playing around and taking really cool shots.  I, on the other hand, stick to the automatic setting.  It's not that I don't want to learn.  I'm just not willing to take the time to learn right now.  All that to say, please don't judge me based on my ridiculous photography skills.  And, know that I'm sure you can create a much betterI Spy book than what I have here.  ;)

All I did was throw some toys into a pile on some black felt then took a picture.  Next, I picked out several of the objects and set them up in a way they were easily identifiable and took a second picture.  After ordering the prints, I used a silver sharpie marker to write instructions on the appropriate photo.  I found an empty plastic photo book laying around the house and slid the pictures right in.  I think you can get photo books like this for a $1 or less.  Some of the other toys I used for the pictures were legos, fake kitchen food, and bead necklaces.  Be creative and make it your own!!!

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It's About Time

Now, I'm not sure how old most kids are when they start to tell time.  Mine are not there yet and are not anywhere close.  But, we are trying to teach Addi simple clock recognition skills so she knows when bed time is and when she is allowed to get out of bed in the mornings.  I decided to go ahead and make her a paper plate clock she could play with and I made a few "flash cards" for when the day comes where we do want to actually teach her how to tell time.

I used two different size paper plates. I used stickers on the inside plate to represent the hours and i wrote the minutes on the outside plate (sorry it's kind of hard to see in the picture).  I cut out the two hands from foam and used a brad to secure everything.  I choose to use two different colors for the hands so they can easily recognize which one is the long and short hand.

The flashcards I made have two different sides.  On one side is a picture of a clock.  The child can replicate the picture on their paper plate clock and then read the time.

On the other side is the digital reading of the time.  Use these to see if the child can figure out what the analog clock would look like with this same time.

Another activity would be to play with the paper plate clock and then have the child draw a picture of the time in the digital and analog format they choose.

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Egg-citing Games

Who knew a dozen plastic eggs could provide so much entertainment?  This set has instructions for seven different games!  Yep SEVEN!!!  

I bought a pack of 36 bold plastic eggs and another pack of pastel plastic eggs for $1.98 each.  You don't have to buy that many eggs but I was planning on making some sets for a few of our friends and I also wanted some left over eggs for some Easter activities. 

I typed up some simple directions and printed them on index cards, which fit perfectly in the top portion of the egg carton.  The first three games are super simple.  To clarify the 3rd game, the child would match the dark purple and light purple, the dark pink and light pick, etc.

Game 1

The last four games require a few extra components.  You can use whatever manipulatives you want.  I just used some things I had lying around the house.  Just make sure if you have a little one who is still putting things in their mouth that you pick larger objects.

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7

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I'm a Busy Bag Makin' Machine

My husband went out of town for the weekend and although I missed him tremendously, it might have been for the best.  This is what my living room looked like as I was preparing to make the 100 busy bags from the giveaway.  I just thought it was funny so I thought I would share.  I kind of wish I would have taken a picture about an hour after this one was taken (or even the next night) because you would have really though a tornado had blown through.  Congrats again to the 10 winners.  I plan on sending out your bags out once I have everyone's address.

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Letter of the Week- Letter S

Letter S week, or should I say weeks, were jam packed.  We took our time for several reasons. Josiah decided to finally drop his morning nap and we had decided that this was the week he needed to give up his pacifier.  We had a few nights/ days where crying took priority over sleep for my little man and it was hard to figure out a new routine as to when Addi's lessons would be best to complete. We also had one of Addi and Josiah's friends come and stay with us for a few days while his mommy was in the hospital having his new baby sister.  In addition to all of that, my husband was transitioning from one job to another and had a week off in-between.  Our days looked nothing like they usually do.  Any routine we were trying to establish was out the window.  All of this to say, it took us quite awhile to get through the letter S but we had an super time going slow.

Even if our days were off, here is the intended curriculum and a list of the activities we tried to accomplish this week.

S is for snakes.

Addi's uppercase S snake

We painted a paper towel roll and then cut it in a spiral shape.  We added eyes and a tongue and Addi chased us all round with her snake all afternoon.

Now, one day we took a trip to the Science Museum because I knew they had lots of snakes.  We also went to story time where they got to learn about snakes and hold them.  However, I forgot they also had a sloth.  We happened to show up just about the time the sloth was coming out for his lunch.  So, even though I hadn't planned on teaching S is for sloth, it worked in our favor.  

S is for Sun, Stars and Sand!

Since we didn't have time to make a trip to the beach, Addi made her first sand art instead.

Here is her sun catcher.

This is the easiest counting game by far.  I cut out a circle and lots of little strips of paper.  I told Addi we had to give the sun its rays and count them as we put them on.  This was great!  We are getting on up there in numbers and she gets a little lost sometimes in the teens, but for the most part I think she is catching on.  

We also took a stencil and Addi made lots of stars.  She was so proud of herself for drawing al the stars.  It was great to see her so excited.

S is for snow.  Unfortunately there was no chance of snow this week.  It was one of those Southeast early spring weeks in which the temperature actually got up to about 70 degrees outside.  Instead of playing in snow, we just read some books and made popsicle snowflakes.  I had planned on a shaving cream activity, but I had run out of the cheap sensitive skin type that we typically use and I wasn't about to use my husband's.  Ha ha.

S is for shapes!!!  Addi was thrilled to sort shape stickers.  She got really creative and started sticking them on top of one another and made shape towers.  

We also played the shape matching game.

We pulled out an older busy bag and used the shape roads with some of Josiah's new cars.

Addilyn worked on all the shape matching worksheets I had and was still asking for more.  

We played the popsicle shape game.  The last time we used this busy bag she wasn't too interest, but this week she played with it several times and it actually entertained her for quiet awhile.  I was pretty impressed.

Finally, I had picked up this set of shape magnets over a year ago for Addi back when she was potty training.  I had stored them away with the other prizes, but somehow or another they slipped out of the bag and had been lost behind the washing machine.  Anyway, I got this set for $1 at the Dollar Tree.  Addi has played shape matching about 10 times since I pulled it out.  I'm not sure what she loves about it so much, but I'm not going to complain.

S stand for so many other things, we just kind of went with it.  As other things popped up, we did it.

With the warmer weather we visited the park a few times this week and played on the swings and slides, perfect for letter S week.  Addi also was excited because she found a stick and I told her she could keep it since it starts with the letter s.  You might be able to see it in a couple of the pictures.

We played I Spy with pictures cards and a magnifying glass.  Josiah used his bubble wand as his magnifying glass, ha ha.

I saw a lady on Pinterest who did pancakes in the shape of the letter of her kids names, so on the morning we were having pancakes, I thought, why not?

Addi has known the Itsy Bitsy Spider song forever, but this book includes six verses.  I pulled out the video camera one day because she was pretending to read to Josiah and sang the song for about 35 minutes straight, over and over again.  

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