Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Momma made....My Busy Box

I'd like to you meet my new best friends!!!

SWEET GIRL'S BUSY BOXES

When I was preggo with Little Man, I put together several activity bags for Sweet Girl.  My thought was that I would give her an activity or two when I was nursing or when I needed to do something.  And she played with them.....for about 5 minutes.  Unfortunately, it usually takes me WAY longer than 5 minutes to do anything these days, so I needed a little longer.  So......I took all the activities I had already put together, as well as some extra stuff I found around the house and made these super neat busy boxes.  Just looking at them makes me want to be two again!!



Wanna see what's inside our boxes???
  • Mini Mr. Potato Head
  • Mess Free Color Blast book
  • Foam number puzzle
  • Stickers and paper
  • 3 small books
  • Alphabet flashcards

  • Mini cow puzzle
  • 3 books
  • Colored linking cubes
  • Finger puppets
  • Winnie the Pooh number flashcards
  • Stickers
  • Soft ball

  • Small lego set
  • Mini I Spy bag
  • Farm puzzle
  • Transporation counters
  • Stickers
  • 3 books
  • Picture flashcards

  • Princess dominos
  • First words flashcards
  • ABC foam puzzle
  • Princess figurines
  • 3 small books
  • Peg board
  • Princess coloring book with 5 crayons
  • Stickers

The boxes have been great and definitely entertain her for about 30 minutes.  I made sure that everything in the boxes (containers, boxes, etc) were easy for her to open so she could do it herself.  I plan on changing out the items after several uses just so she doesn't get bored with the boxes.  And....since I'm obsessed with the dollar store and dollar section at Target, I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding some new goodies.


What about you?  How do you keep your little one "busy"?  Please share!  I always love finding new ways for Sweet Girl to have some independent play time!


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19 comments:

  1. I LOVE this! I store all of my little one's toys in bins like this and rotate them out. I also have special bins all over (art bin, quiet time bin, book bins, etc.) I recently made a bunch of activity bags while we were on vacation. I hadn't thought of making a bunch of mini-busy bins for my little one. I am SO going to do this...especially for after our littlest one arrives!

    (icandothatsocanyou.blogspot.com)

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  2. Love this idea! :) Care to join our weekly linky? We share ideas that are age appropriate for toddlers. You can check it out here: http://best-toys-for-toddler.blogspot.com/

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  3. This is great as I am looking for things to keep my daughter entertained. Where do you keep them? Does she get to use them at special times?

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  4. Thanks everyone! We love our busy boxes! I'm putting more together so we have a little more variety! I love the idea of an art box!!! @kim...i keep our boxes in a closet out of sight and reach. I usually pull them out as a special "treat " when i need some time to do something (making dinner, feeding Little Man, making calls, etc). It seems u tend to use them on my daughter's "needy" days when she wants all of my attention all day.

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  5. These are fantastic! They'd be great for car/plane rides...must make some for my little Peas! Thanks for sharing :-)

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  6. Awesome idea!! I am going to try it--thanks!

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  7. I did something similar with my son for when we go to church...he needs to be entertained quietly so I fill a small backpack up for him to take along. I change up the items every few weeks but leave some that he loves week after week.

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  8. Great boxes! We used to live in Maryland( Western Maryland) we just moved over to WV.
    Kelly

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  9. Awesome, some good ideas. I have some quiet box ideas on my blog too, I still have 3 more to post about.

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  10. This is such a great idea! I just recently started rotating toys/games on a new "learning center" shelf. And that seems to have helped us tremendously. I'm glad this is working for you. BTW, I LOVE the dollar spot at Target, too. Especially when stuff goes on 75% OFF!

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  11. I used this idea for a while too (then I ran out of organizational brain cells :)). My boxes were a little less structured than your (again with the organization), but the same idea-- I put random little toys and objects that my daughter would enjoy exploring in boxes and handed her one to play with when we were out of ideas of things to do or when I really needed to get something done. This worked really well because she LOVED to open boxes, explore things, and take things in and out.

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  12. Hi! I just ran across your site and think it's awesome! I was wondering how old your little girl was when your son was born? I'm pregnant with #2 now and my daughter will be 15 months when he's born. I would love to do something like this to keep her occupied while I'm nursing. I'm just trying to think of what activities will be age-appropriate for her. Thanks!

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  13. @EmmyT27...My two are 20 months apart, so my daughter was a little older than your daughter when my son was born. BUT....I definitely think you can put together some boxes or even little bags to try and keep her occupied when you need a little time. I recommend things that don't require too much of your assistance...like little board books she can look at, flashcards, puzzles, stickers, etc. I would stay away from things that are small just to be on the safe side. My daughter never put things in her mouth, but I still try to avoid really small objects. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or need any suggestions! I'm happy to help! playinghouseinmaryland (at) hotmail (dot) com.

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  14. AWESOME... another fabulous idea!!! I am keeping this one in mind! Love it...

    Thanks so much for sharing this at For the Kids Fridays!

    :)rachel at SunScholars.blogspot.com

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  15. Finally finished my first few activity boxes! I linked back to you. Thanks so much for the idea! http://www.apurposedrivenhome.com/?p=1359

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  16. Those are great. Just one activity doesn't seem to keep them busy long enough and the boxes are great. Thanks for the idea of things to put in them

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  17. Thank you for this great idea. I am pregnant with #3 and #2 will be 2 yrs 2 months when he is born. #1 is 8 yrs and I have 4 teen foster boys. So #3 does have his needy times and days. The older kids aren't always patient and helpful. These will definitely come in handy. Thanks again for sharing. :) God bless.

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