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Busy Bags 101 — and Lots of Busy Bag Ideas!

by Angela Thayer 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure for more information.

Busy bags are an awesome way to keep toddlers and preschooler quietly occupied. Today I’m sharing all about busy bags, as well as some examples of how to put them together.

Busy Bags 101

What is a Busy Bag?

Busy bags are simple activities stored in a bag for toddlers or preschoolers so they are always ready to go! They are engaging activities that your child can do independently. They are great for playing during quiet time at home or to keep them busy while waiting at the doctor’s office. They use simple materials and usually cost around $1 to make. You make them ahead of time so they are ready to go…which really makes your life as a mom so much easier!

How Do You Make Busy Bags?

To make a busy bag, you will just need simple materials like pompoms, craft sticks, or printables. Then you will store them in a plastic pouch or Ziploc bag.

Storing Busy Bags

What Are Some Examples of Busy Bags?

Here are two examples we’ve made recently. The first one is a color matching game. I cut out two pieces of felt (of the same color) in the shape of a pocket. Then I sewed them together (you could use fabric glue instead). Then the activity was for my boys to match the colored craft stick to the fabric pocket and put them in. This was great for working on fine motor skills because they had to figure out how to open the felt pouch while also poking the stick in. And they also practiced counting the sticks!

Color Game for Busy Bags

Another idea is to take craft sticks and to add velcro tabs to the ends.

velcro sticks

Then your child can make shapes or letters by connecting them together. Simple, yet can keep kids entertained for a little while.

Busy Bag ideas

Here are some supplies I suggest using when making busy bags:

  • buttons
  • felt
  • craft sticks
  • magnets
  • magnetic letters
  • foam sheets
  • pony beads
  • pom poms
  • clothespins
  • pipe cleaners
  • LEGO Bricks
  • Ziploc Gallon Bag

If you are looking for some awesome ideas for busy bags, I invite you to browse some of these ideas below.

Here’s a fun Build a Book Busy Bag.

build-a-book-busy-bag

Traveling with Kids? Check out this collection of Montestorri-Inspired activities for busy bags.

Traveling-with-Kids-Montessori-Inspired-Activities

This is a cute idea for a pocket playground.

Pocket-Playground

Use this Clip Stick Counting Activity for practice with fine motor and counting.

Counting Activity

Here are some toddler boxes, which could easily be put in a bag to use as a busy bag.

IMG_4828

Here are lots of  busy bags ideas.

busy bags

Lastly, here is an idea for making an i-spy jar.

I-SPY-jars-

A great place to look for busy bag supplies is as the Dollar Store. They have lots of supplies for a good price.

One way to make busy bags is to host a party with other moms. You can either bring supplies and make them together or have each mom bring a busy bag to share with the other moms. It’s a great way to have a night out with other moms and to get a bunch of busy bags done at once.

Hope this post gives you some insight into what a busy bag is. And if you’ve never made one, I hope this will inspire you to try it out!

P.S. If you want a one-stop-shop for busy bags, check out this book: Busy Bags Kids Will Love. This is an awesome book filled with amazing ideas that are simple to create, but your kids will enjoy them! Find out more HERE.

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Filed Under: Preschool, Toddlers Tagged With: busy bags

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  1. Rachel - Volcano Mama says

    October 13, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    Love your ideas! With a two little ones of my own, I’m always looking for more fun that’s educational and easy to prepare. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Angela says

    August 18, 2015 at 8:04 pm

    These ideas are fantastic. I’m going to have to hold off a bit longer on the craft sticks. I tried it with my two year old and she kept putting them in her mouth. That ink bleeds big time :p

    Reply
  3. Nermari says

    May 1, 2015 at 3:27 am

    I’m SO looking forward to doing some of these for my 18m old baby girl! She’s always chasing after her big brothers, but I need some downtime to get our homeschooling done 🙂

    Reply
  4. Donella says

    October 4, 2014 at 7:45 pm

    Love the felt pouch and popsicle stick activity as well as many, many others. 🙂 We’re using your preschool curriculum, too. I’ve included your popsicle stick activity in my craft stick roundup here: http://productivewahm.com/26-craft-stick-projects-for-every-letter-of-the-alphabet/

    Have a lovely weekend!
    Donella recently posted…26 Craft Stick Projects for Every Letter of the AlphabetMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Thaleia (@Something2Offer) says

    November 6, 2013 at 2:37 am

    Wow, love this round up of Busy Bags. I even saw some new ones and I thought I had seen them all since I have 5 Busy Bag pinterest boards about them,lol.
    Thaleia (@Something2Offer) recently posted…Quick and Easy Learning SticksMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Nadia says

    November 5, 2013 at 4:13 pm

    Thanks for the feature, Angela!
    Nadia recently posted…Name recognition activitiesMy Profile

    Reply
  7. Karyn says

    November 5, 2013 at 12:00 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing my busy bag post. Great round-up of ideas!
    Karyn recently posted…Bubble Science- Square BubblesMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Makeovers Motherhood says

    November 5, 2013 at 3:24 am

    I love the idea of putting velcro tabs on craft sticks! My boys would love this! Thanks for sharing all these fantastic ideas!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Choose the Best Preschool Homeschool Curriculum says:
    July 8, 2020 at 12:30 am

    […] Busy Bags 101 is a great resource for learning the basics, or my friend Sara has a great book and website to give you busy bag ideas covering literacy, math, fine motor skills, and pretty much all of the things young children should master. […]

    Reply
  2. Kids just want to have fun | Broke But Living Good says:
    April 30, 2017 at 5:28 pm

    […] “Busy Bags”- So with this one I’m going to let you all look at the site I found this idea on because there are so many different ideas and things you can do with this I’ll let you all make your own ideas with this.     https://www.teachingmama.org/busy-bags-101/ […]

    Reply
  3. One Secret Tool For Waiting with Kids says:
    January 28, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    […] whenever needed. The contents of the bag were simple: a deck of cards, a captivating read-aloud, busy bags for the little ones, and often electronics (the doctor’s office is my favorite place to use […]

    Reply
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