I read a couple books on toddler activities (ages 1-2/1-3) a while ago that I posted on earlier, but just now I've learned of the smarty-pants idea of women getting together to make toddler busy bags: One person makes 15 (or whatever number) of an activity and swaps with the others who each make 15 (or whatever number) of other activities. There are a bunch of great ideas out there (thank you, Blogosphere!), many of which I think were mentioned in those books I'd read, or at least they shared the same concepts. As I'm not in a position right now to start up on those activities but want to be able to reference them later--and as it's always fun to share cute, helpful ideas--I'm posting them here. I'm not a crafty person. Ok, clarification: I appreciate cute, crafty things and would probably be able to think of lots of fun things to do and ways to do them, but when it comes to ME actually putting them together, well, expect it to take hours longer and much more frustration than one would ever expect. (Guess why I also don't sew!) So, anyway, most of the ones I've included are totally simple, thus increasing the likelihood of my actually starting and finishing them. ;) Most of them are also geared toward little ones who like to put small things in their mouths.
This first link here is my favorite. It shows all the projects that a group of friends put together, and although links are included to how-tos, you can figure out how to put them together just by looking at most of them.
http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/toddler-busy-bag-swap/
-
Button Snake (I think I actually have some fabric samples I could use for this, as well as everything else I'd need. Nice! That increases the likelihood of my completing the project by four-fold!)
-
Lacing Cards (I would need to buy string for this, sadly, but at least I have the foam for it.)
-
Popsicle Stick Puzzles (This one....well, I'd seen the idea before, but I don't remember it turning out so well if I had tried it. I'll have to think about this one. I do have popsicle sticks, though!)
-
Pushing Puff Balls (Ok, I really like this one too, but I wouldn't do it with shaped tops, just circles, as I'm not asking the kid to match shapes like his shape box. The con to this one is the into-the-mouth factor. I'd have to really keep an eye on Lil'S, which is not the point of these activities in my book. ;) )
-
Shades of Color (I think my daughter and husband need this one too. They don't understand the difference between dark pink and red!!!! What's with that??? Maybe I should ask H's eye specialist about that one!)
http://engagingtoddleractivities.wordpress.com/tag/busy-box/
- Pushing Puff Balls (this is the puff ball one I'd make)
- Color Sorting Pipe Cleaners (or I'd do this instead to avoid the in-the-mouth factor....although, they certainly would get all bent out of shape after not too much time...hmm...)
I've tossed around doing texture collections (cards or even just different materials collected together), but haven't had the guts to search out different things around my house yet. Here are the ones I like anyway.
http://engagingtoddleractivities.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/homemade-toys-texture-cards/ (Super cute, but can't see myself tackling this as beautifully as she did!)
http://learningdevelopmentactivities.blogspot.com/2009/12/texture-cards.html
- all these but the dice at the bottom. (Yeah, there's a repeat, but that's what happens when you use the same source twice.) I'd probably use velcro for the cupcakes instead, and probably just do different shapes instead of cupcakes as well.
Clothespin drop Little more work / potential frustration involved, but I love the idea. I would probably have different decorations on mine as well.
Plastic Egg Activities:
- Egg Cartons I wouldn't add small pieces in the eggs unless I was in a position to tend to Lil'S closely, as much fun as it would otherwise be!
- Mix & Match (better for preschooler than toddler, but cheap, everything on hand, and super simple), number matching fits the above too
