Alison's blog - The Way He Plays is a lovely place with a focus on Nature and Sensory Play. Her little boy has just celebrated his first birthday, so if you have a little bub under one you'll find lots of fantastic play ideas (of course many of her ideas can be used for older children as well). My favourite post of her's is Spring Flower Playdough. I came across The Way He Plays via a comment Alison left on another blog, and realised that she was also from Adelaide. After chatting and connecting we discovered that we went to uni together. Small world! If you're from Adelaide too - you'll know what I mean about that kind of thing happening all the time ;)
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Welcome to Part 2 of our 20 busy bag ideas for busy little people! You can see the fabulous bags that Lauren made last week here in Part 1 if you didn't see the quiet blocks then you really must go and check it out, they were my favourite!
When choosing which busy bag to make it is important to think specifically about your child. You want the activity to be something that keeps them busy which means it has to be engaging to them as well as being developmentally appropriate. Choose something too tricky and it is going to frustrate them and cause the same behaviour you are trying to avoid. Choose something too easy and it is going to bore them, not keeping them very busy at all. Finding that happy medium will mean that they can play independently and let you get on with the things you want or need to do. Try paying attention to the toys and activities that your child is already drawn to and make smaller, on-the-go versions of these.
Cars and a play mat (great for language development and pretend play)
These busy bags are designed to keep my 12 month old entertained on a long haul flight so I filled them with lots of exploration, manipulation and cars as these are the things he loves at the moment. I also needed to ensure they would get through security which is why I used paper mache craft versions of match boxes instead of just using and covering the real things!
Don't forget to join us again next Tuesday for 5 more busy bag ideas!
Alison :)
*** Please take note: as with any baby and toddler play activities, please be mindful of objects smaller than a 50c piece that may present as a choking hazard. Always supervise your little one, and of course, you know your child best.
Thanks so much for sharing your fantastic ideas Alison!
When choosing which busy bag to make it is important to think specifically about your child. You want the activity to be something that keeps them busy which means it has to be engaging to them as well as being developmentally appropriate. Choose something too tricky and it is going to frustrate them and cause the same behaviour you are trying to avoid. Choose something too easy and it is going to bore them, not keeping them very busy at all. Finding that happy medium will mean that they can play independently and let you get on with the things you want or need to do. Try paying attention to the toys and activities that your child is already drawn to and make smaller, on-the-go versions of these.
Mini Ring Stacker using a cylinder block, a sturdy lid and wooden curtain rings (great for hand-eye coordination)
Spice containers and pom poms or ear buds (great for the pincer grip)
Cars and a play mat (great for language development and pretend play)
This fantastic double-sided car mat is a free printable from The DIY Mommy which you can find here!
Surprise sensory boxes using match boxes and various materials (great for sensory exploration, guessing games and stacking)
Homemade Toy Puzzle, I simply took a photo of the toys sitting on A4 white paper and adjusted the colours a little on the computer to make the white a pure white for printing (great for visual matching)
These busy bags are designed to keep my 12 month old entertained on a long haul flight so I filled them with lots of exploration, manipulation and cars as these are the things he loves at the moment. I also needed to ensure they would get through security which is why I used paper mache craft versions of match boxes instead of just using and covering the real things!
Don't forget to join us again next Tuesday for 5 more busy bag ideas!
Alison :)
*** Please take note: as with any baby and toddler play activities, please be mindful of objects smaller than a 50c piece that may present as a choking hazard. Always supervise your little one, and of course, you know your child best.
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Thanks so much for sharing your fantastic ideas Alison!
To follow with The Way He Plays you can find Alison here...
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