Guest post by Willa from Armstrong Family Fare
Recently there have been a lot of wonderful busy bag ideas shared here. A lot of them look like they would be something my two-year old son would enjoy, however I did not have many of the items needed to make them on hand.
I am very supportive of spending a little money on fun education activities, but we’re currently working on our very own BHAG and trying to cut as many corners as possible. I thought about an activity my son might enjoy and came up with my own, the Twist Tie Busy Bag!
You’ll need the following items:
- A handful of twist ties (20 or so)
- A small bottle
Have your child straighten the twist ties and then put them into the bottle one by one. My son loved it and thought it was a lot of fun!
He always wants to play with twist ties, so this activity allows him just that all while improving his finger dexterity and hand eye coordination! All of this fun was capable with items already available in my home.
Willa lives in Ohio with her husband, Eric and son, Graham (2 years) and daughter, Ellie (5 months). Willa shares her favorite recipes and passion for spending time in the kitchen on her new blog, Armstrong Family Fare.
Pam says
I love these busy bag ideas you share. I have ran a home daycare for 16 years and I love new ideas to try. I would give a word of caution on this one, however. I have had a couple of children over the years twist the twist ties around their fingers and not be able to get them off. By the time they were panicked enough to tell me, their fingers were really, really blue! I just advise close supervision of course!
Amy says
I love this idea and the others mentioned because it uses readily accessible items and it also works on a child’s fine motor skills. Since my older son (who is now 6) has been in occupational therapy since he was 18 months old, we’ve done many similar activities to those mentioned. One of my favorites when he was younger was giving him dry spaghetti noodles and having him stick them in the holes of an upside-down colander. His teacher just told me he has the best handwriting in his class, so I think all our hard work and creativity has paid off!
Karen says
My kids (8,8, and 9) are obsessed with twist ties. When we go to the grocery store they are always taking a couple from the produce department. They asked the first time if they could have some and the produce manager (we know him) said, “sure”. So now they think they have free reign to take as many as they would like, but I limit them to two.
Mona says
Wow! Love all these ideas! I feel so un-creative when it comes to things like this. 🙂
Jessica-MomForHim says
I have 2 young girls (1 and 3) and I also homeschool 3 others (5, 6, and 8), so I spent some time this summer putting together some busy bags and busy bins (for things that don’t fit well in a bag) so the little ones could be busy while I was teaching the others. I went around my house to see what I could modify into a “game” and then reserved it for school time. You’d be surprised! I have a bin with dried beans and scoops, a bin with scoops and a towel (just add water!), stacking cups and yarn balls, beads and pipe cleaners, matching games, all sorts of things! Sometimes you just have to look at it with a different set of eyes!
Cherilyn says
This is a great idea. I did something similar for my 19 month old. I cut holes in the plastic lid of a snack container and cut straws in 4″ pieces. She just loves putting the straws in the holes over and over again.
Jenn says
Such an awesome frugal idea! So many times I don’t have the items on hand that different projects call for, but I do have lots of twisty-ties sitting around 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Willa.
Anne says
This activity reminds me of when my own girls were young I kept a few colorful pipecleaners in my purse. I pulled them out to keep a little one occupied long enough to get through the checkout line, or waiting for the doctor, or just one more errand in the car seat. It saved me many times.
Cort says
Great inexpensive idea!
Stefanie says
Great idea! I love the feeling of making use out of things we already have in our home. I’m going to start saving my twisty ties now! Btw, checked out your blog and enjoyed it! 🙂
Willa@ArmstrongFamilyFare says
Thanks Stefanie!
rose fann says
I know this isn’t a busy bag idea but with my older kids when we traveled we did the abc game..you know i went to the store and while there i bought an apple and next person says…i went to store and got a banana and an apple and so forth..it gets harder and harder but its fun..if you forget something on the list you are out..and i always carried like lifesavers or tootsie pops for the winner..and you can also do the road sign game..do the abcs too…no cheating thought, no license plates..only road signs and billboards…first to get to z wins.. hope this helps ya out with the older ones..
HokieKate says
We loved the ABC game with signs! Often we’d have different rules for different kids. For the older kids only the first letters of words counted, but younger kids could find letters anywhere in the word.
We would also watch license plates and try to find as many states as possible. We’d keep a written list and get above 30 on some trips. Sometimes we’d make extra laps around parking lots looking at license plates!
Beth says
Thanks these are good ideas. We do the licence plate game but I end up being the only one playing. Since we go back and forth often I would like to see how many trips it takes to get all the states. rose fann I will have to try the abc game, he gets very anxious in the car on long trips so thinking about the list we have made may take his mind off the anxiety. Thanks
Beth says
I do not have little ones but I do like the busy bag ideas. I really wish we could find some for a much older child. Mine is 12 yeah he usually has a book or 10 with him and that is great but some of these would be nice for when we make the 16 hour trip to Florida.
AnneJisca says
What a great idea! I love your resourcefulness! I’ve loved the busy bag ideas on here, but not very many of those things can be bought where I live. Or not for a good price, that is! Thank you for sharing!
Willa@ArmstrongFamilyFare says
Thanks! I agree, there are some great busy bag ideas out there but I just didn’t want to spend the money on that right now! Keeping my eyes peeled for good sales on a few of those items!