Busy Bags- Toddler & Preschool

It is so important to me that my big kids don't feel left out when new babies come along. I always try and plan some special things for them to do ahead of time, knowing that my time will be consumed with new baby fun-ness.

 

I chose to use busy bags as a way to keep them learning and occupied as well as having something new and special they have never seen before.

 

In the past I have used plastic bags and I found that they ended up not looking so great after a couple uses. I also struggled with an organized way to store them. This time, I found pencil boxes for 57 cents and bought them during Tennessee's Tax Free holiday. I like that I can store them on a shelf, label them easier and that they will hopefully be more durable.

I was also able to use one color for older kid games and one for younger, so that my big kids would know which ones were appropriate to share with the babies and which were "table activities" that contained choking hazards or were just not optimal for toddlers. I encourage you to create bags that are appropriate for your children, their skill set and developmental level.  Pink boxes are for bigger kids at our house, so I will share them first. Though I say they are for bigger kids, these are activities my four year old is comfortable doing on his own.

 

This is a color matching box. I bought magnetic strips and hot glued them to popsicle sticks. I then purchased a box of colored paper clips and labeled each stick with a color. He puts all the red clips on one stick, blue on one, etc. He is very confident in colors, but this box was mainly created for him to read the color names.

 

This could easily be just a fun box for your bigger kids, but I wanted it to be educational as well, so I purchased plain pony beads so that he can make whatever he likes, but I also purchased alphabet letter beads, so that he can form words. You could also use this box as a color game- place all the read beads on the red pipe cleaner, etc.

 

 

This is a motor skill box as well as word forming. He loves this box because it is something he normally wouldn't get to play with. He can simply screw the nuts onto the bolts for one activity, but I also took a permanent marker and wrote letters on the side of each nut, so he could form words on the bolts as well.

 

 

 

This box is a mix of learning about Jesus and getting a better grip on the days of the week. You could really break it into two boxes if you think it's too much for one.  I labeled seven cards with ____ day. I then made prefix cards and put the number order on the back, so if they needed help they could go by the number. I also incorporated the creation story, by labeling what God made on each day. I also added toys we had laying around the house or created pieces from felt to the box, so that they could read what was created that day and then place the items with the correct card.

 

 

Black boxes are for everyone, but big kids know that they are allowed to get these down for smaller kids as well.

 

I bought extra large buttons, so they wouldn't be as much of a choking risk at our house, but if you don't have that concern, you could use any size buttons. I like the motor skill aspect of this box and I just cut pipe cleaners in half and let them string them along. I also thought this box could work for color, shape or size sorting depending on the buttons you choose for your box.

 

 

 

We are working diligently on recognizing uppercase and lowercase letters, so this box was created to go along with that. (Oh, and my kid is obsessed with fishing.) I took a pencil and hot glued on some fishing string to make a pole. (I did wrap a little piece of felt around the top because the edges were a little sharp). I glued magnets along the bottom of the string. I then took felt and made uppercase squares and lowercase squares. I glued magnets onto the back of the uppercase squares, so that he could "catch" those with the pole. The lowercase squares are then laid to the side and when he catches an uppercase letter he has to match it to the lowercase.

 

 

This is a simple color sorting box that my almost two year old loves. You could die your own pasta, but I just used the tri-color rotini and some black beans. I put the small disposable bathroom cups in the box and they just sort them into colors. You could use any dried bean or noodle you have around the house for this.

 

 

 

We had a pool noodle that got destructed and this box came from just wanting to do something with it! I had some clothesline laying around as well so I just took sharp scissors and cut the noodle into chunks and added the clothesline. Even the smallest of my little kids love stringing the noodles onto the line with this box.

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite homeschool resources is 1+1+1=1. If you haven't checked her out you need to. Like, right now. I used her Batman Preschool Pack for this box. I printed and laminated the number cards and then numbered clothespins so that they could read the number on the pin and match it to the card. Some of the cards aren't numbered, so those they have to count and then find the correct number.

 

 

We are kind of obsessed with this box. My kiddos could make felt pizzas all day! I got this idea from a friend and you can do this any way you like, I cut brown circles for the crust and then smaller circles for the cheese. I then cut out pepper rings, pepperonis, carrot sticks, meat triangles and green pepper slices from felt. They love making their own creations!

 

 

 

I used paint color samples for this box. I just picked general colors and cut the cards in two pieces. I wrote the color name on these as well to help with reading. I hot glued colors onto clothespins so they could clip the correct pin onto the corresponding color card.  

 

This box is full of  "building blocks." My little kids love this box! I bought several different colors and kinds of cleaning sponges and cut some into half and some into quarters. I also bought a pack of sponge hair rollers and removed the plastic part. I also threw in a few pieces of the pool noodle. They love to build with these "blocks!"

 

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own busy bags. These 12 boxes cost me around $20 and are well worth the cost and effort.

Grow your own veggies!!

Three summers ago I thought it would be fun to try gardening. I never imagined how that garden would grow or the blessing my family would receive from it. I am in NO WAY a master gardener and learn new things all the time, but I have been amazed at the ease of growing our own food and how much we have benefitted. We started out with a very simple raised bed. I started with easy things like tomatoes and peppers. It took me a couple years to figure out which plants were the best for us based mainly on what my family actually ate and what was fairly easy to care for. If you plant five tomato plants, you have to find something to do with all those tomatoes and I learned that the hard way!

I also cater my garden to my children. It is fun for my preschooler to pick cherry tomatoes and snacking peppers, so I plant those. I have said this on the blog before, but I strongly believe that when kids are involved in what they eat, they are much more willing to try new and different things.

I have been through trials with my garden- yellow plants from not enough nitrogen, white butterflies eating my broccoli, mint wrapping itself around every other plant, etc., but I love learning how to fix the problems and really enjoy growing our own food. Our library has been a great resource for issues when they arise as well as my in-laws who have been gardening for many years. Having a garden cuts my grocery bill by about a third every summer. We chose to eat what we have available and it is good for our finances and our bodies!

One of my projects for the first time this summer was growing carrots. As I only have three raised beds right now, I always seem to want to grow more than what I have space for. So, I thought I would try growing carrots in a container. I used an old crate that was in the basement and filled it with Miracle-Gro® Moisture Control® Potting Mix. I chose this soil because I am very prone to being forgetful about watering. I like this crate because it has the holes for drainage already made for me. You could use this method for any kind of  vegetable that doesn't need much space.

I planted the seeds according to the package directions (one inch down and two inches apart).

Within six weeks, I had carrots!

 

Don't be afraid to try gardening, even if you only have a few feet of space. You will be amazed what you can provide for your family very inexpensively and with little room or effort.

 



Celebrating Easter

It is so important to me that my boys know what Easter is really about. Though we do the modern traditions, I am always looking for ways to incorporate the real story behind Easter so that they may know the Easter Bunny is not what it's all about. I wanted to share with you my favorite activity we did. This was very age appropriate for my four year old and his friends and I was excited  that when we were finished each of them could tell the story of Easter using this activity.

I took an egg carton and let the kids paint the outside however they liked. I printed each of the verses and let them glue the printed page on top of the carton. I then gave them each six eggs numbered 1-6 on the outside.

For the first egg, we added an oyster cracker to symbolize bread. We read Luke 22: 14-15. Each verse listed in the post is from The Message.

"When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, 'You’ve no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It’s the last one I’ll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God.”

 

 For the next egg, we read John 19:17-18. I took some burlap and cut out cross shapes and then painted around the edges with brown nail polish to prevent fraying. You could easily make them from construction paper, but I thought the burlap would hold up to little hands better.

"They took Jesus away. Carrying his cross, Jesus went out to the place called Skull Hill, where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a sign and had it placed on the cross. It read: jesus the Nazarene the king of the jews"

 

Egg # 3 got a piece of cloth to go along with John 19:40. I took one of my husbands' old t-shirts and just tore small strips to be placed in the egg.

 

"Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. They took Jesus’ body and, following the Jewish burial custom, wrapped it in linen with the spices. There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it."

 

Into the fourth egg, we placed a rock. Each child was able to go outside and pick out one small rock for their egg. The verse for this egg was Matthew 27: 59-60.

 

"Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed, sitting in plain view of the tomb." 

 

And the fifth egg, we left empty. Luke 24: 1-3.

 

"At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn’t find the body of the Master Jesus."

 

Inside the sixth egg, we placed a jelly bean. We read John 3:16 and talked about the Easter story with this egg and we talked about how we celebrate. They learned that Jesus was a great gift to us and for that reason we can give each other candy and other gifts in celebration of what he has done for us.

 

 

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him."

 

And of course, we made a snack. These are Wilton candy melts, placed in a 300 degree oven for 2-3 minutes or just until glossy. Then I placed a pretzel on top and made each child one more with bunny cupcake toppers I found in the cake decorating aisle. You can use any color to use these for any holiday or occasion.

 

 

 



Mother's Day

 

 For Mother's Day this year, I decided we could craft our own vases for all the special "mothers" in our lives. I am passionate about celebrating not just our mothers, but those who God has placed in our lives to serve as mothers at different times. We all know that it takes a village, and I choose to celebrate that village on this day, because I couldn't survive without it!

These were very easy to make and the preschoolers did the project fairly independently.

I purchased these pots for $1 each and let my big kid pick out the spray paint which ended up being around $2. The next time I do this craft I will purchase two cans so that I can also paint the inside of the pots.

 

I also had a couple pickle jars laying around and thought that those would be nice to try as well. They actually ended up being my favorite. I did use Goo Gone to get the sticky labels off the jars and then washed them well with dish soap so the paint would stick.

After the paint dried, I  helped each child add his or her handprint. For our family, I put one boys' hand on one side and the other boys' on the opposite.

 

I found these cute flower stakes in the craft section and let them color it however they wanted and glue on their picture. These were really easy special gifts for all the "moms" we are blessed to have  in our lives.

St. Patrick's Day: Shamrocks & Sensory Play

I believe that each holiday, no matter how insignificant it may seem, can be an opportunity for learning. It is always interesting to me and my boys to learn about the many holidays that began as Christian celebrations and it can be a great opportunity to remind them about faith and how all we have comes from above.

For St. Patrick's Day, we took the opportunity to learn about St. Patrick. I used Christian Answers because I didn't know much myself, but we also checked out a few books from the library.

We talked about the shamrock and how it is an easy way to remember the trinity- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We used handprints to make shamrocks of our own.

We also made some sensory bottles just for fun. I died water green and let them each add oil and assorted other items as they wanted. I also attempted to dye some rice green, just by using food coloring, but it didn't quite turn out as dark as I planned, so I used other colors as well and made a rainbow rice bottle. The last bottle was made from water and hair gel and we added green pony beads as an "I spy" bottle.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!