A summer busy bag can keep your kiddo more than entertained on one of those sweltering days. It’s too hot to play outside, you’re on a majorly long car trip, it’s raining or maybe your little one has just had enough with her pool day. Whatever the reason, pulling out one of these bags is the perfect antidote to, “Mommmmy! I’m bored!”
Summer Shapes Busy Bag
This isn’t just a bunch of stuff shoved in a bag. Well, it kind of is. But, it’s also carefully created to keep your child busy in a completely helpful way. Your child will help you to create a bag filled with shapes to build into summer-time items.
What kinds of items will your child build? Anything that has to do with summer. Your creative kid can brainstorm ideas, such as ice cream cones, popsicles, beach balls, beach towels or the summer sun.
That means it’s entertaining and educational. Not only is your little one getting hands-on, but she’s also building basic math skills, using her critical-thinking skills and so much more.
Take your busy bag along with you on your summer vacation or toss it into your tote when you head out to the pool. Really. You can bring your bag almost anywhere. It’s pretty much mess-free and perfectly portable.
Learning and Development
- Fine motor skills – eye-hand coordination, grip, dexterity
- Color identification and recognition
- Shape identification and recognition
- Understanding the part-to-whole relationship
- Problem-solving
Arts and Crafts Materials
- Craft felt in a few different colors
- A marker
- Scissors
- A zipper baggie
How-To Steps
- Draw shapes onto different colors of craft felt. Your child can make circles, squares, rectangles and triangles in an array of sizes. If she’s struggling to draw the shapes freehand, your child can trace shape stencils or you can make patterns using cardboard.
- Cut the shapes out.
- Place an 8×10-inch piece of craft felt on a flat surface. This will become the background or base for your child’s felt pictures.
- Build away! Your child can puzzle the pieces together to make summer-themed objects and scenes.
After the Crafting
Your child has built, and built, and built and built some more. Now what? She’s done and ready to move on to another activity. That’s okay. Stack the felt shapes and put them in the middle of the larger felt sheet. Fold the felt over and put the little package into the baggie. Zip it up and you’re ready to store it away.
Extend the Playtime with a Story
Join the little ice cream truck and its cheerful driver, Sue, as they trot all over their diverse town to deliver everyone’s favorite flavor of ice cream on a hot sunny day. Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
This delightfully wacky book will have kids howling with laughter and asking for more, more, more of this deliciously funny story. Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Busy Bag Extensions
This isn’t just a summertime activity. Add extra shapes or new shapes in different colors for an entirely new season. Build snow people in the winter, fall leaves in the autumn and blooming flowers in the spring.
Are you looking for more busy bag ideas?
Here are few busy bags that are perfect for your toddler or preschooler:
kathy downey says
Thanks for the great ideas !