Busy Bags with Magnets

Pin It

I love, love, love busy bags!  No word of exaggeration they have been an absolute life saver on many an occasions.  We regularly take them to restaurants, Doctor's appointments etc and they are perfect for keeping little (and not so little) people busy in quiet time.

If you're not familiar with busy bags the idea is to have a self contained kids activity in a bag that you can grab and go with no replenishing needed.  Perfect for busy parents.  

So, I'm delighted to be taking part in the Busy Bag of the month series.  Each month myself and several other bloggers will be bringing you our latest busy bag ideas.  This month we've been playing with busy bags with magnets.

Pom Pom Busy Bags

Pin It

It's been quite a while since I wrote about our busy bags, so this post is a little overdue.  Busy bags are bags you can take with you to keep kids entertained, at the doctors, restaurants, wherever needed, or can be used as quiet bags when you need to keep kids entertained at home.  We love busy bags and have a box of them we can delve into when need, you can read more about more busy bags here.

Two very popular busy bags that were super simple to make are these two made with pom poms.....

1 - Pom Pom Push Busy Bag

I saved a pot that had sugar sprinkles in it, the hole at the top is just large enough for little fingers to push pom poms into the pot.  This was the first busy bag activity I ever made and it kept Champ entertained for so long, that it started a big spree of busy bag making!

2 - Pom Pom Pill Pot Busy Bag

Another super simple busy bag, this time I bought a cheap pill pot box that had lots of individual compartments for storing pills in.  Into these compartments I placed a pom pom and then shut all the doors.

Here's the finished busy bag all set to take out and use.

And here is Little Dude pulling open all the little doors, taking the pom poms out, putting them back in again, shutting the doors and so on.  Another busy bag that keeps tiny fingers occupied for ages.

Are you a fan of busy bags?  I'd love to hear of any ideas for busy bags that you've made.

Make sure you don't miss a thing by subscribing or checking us out on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and of course Pinterest.

Top 10 Posts of 2012

Pin It

Making Boys Men began in April 2012 with my very first post Fun with Jelly.  Nearly 100 posts later and it's 2013!  I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with you the fun that the boys and I get up to so here's a reminder of our most popular posts in 2012 in reverse order.....

 

 

 

10 - Things to do with acorns and kids.  Some very cute and colourful ideas in this post and lots of glitter!

 

9 - Magnetic advent Christmas tree.  A lot of cutting in front of the TV to make this magnetic advent tree for the kids, but I had fun!

 

8 - Things to do with pinecones and kids.  A little bit of craft, a bit of learning, quite a bit of outdoors and a bit nature - that's quite a lot for a few pinecones!

 

7 - Spaghetti painting.  A personal fave, but very messy and the reason this posts has a three splat rating - be warned!!

 

6 - Using Kids Art for Christmas Cards.  I venture into the adult world of craft and manage to find a use for all those splatty paintings that only a mother can love!

 

5 - Outdoor number hunt.  A great get outside activity and a way to learn your numbers at the same time.

 

4 - 3 Craft stick busy bags.  Oh how we love busy bags!  I just cleared some out today so expect some new ideas in 2013.

 

3 - Things to do with foil and kids.  Obviously I'm biased, but there's 11 things to do with foil in this post, which I think means there's something for every kid whatever their interests!

 

2 - 3 busy bags with clothes pegs (pins).  Some fun learning ones in this set of busy bag ideas.

 

And finally the post that out runs them all thanks to A LOT of repins on Pinterest...... Bashing baked cotton balls!

 

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed reading Making Boys Men in 2012 and are looking forward to more fun in 2013, expect lots more crafts, outdoor play, busy bags and more 'things to do with' ideas! 

 

Make sure you don't miss a thing by subscribing or checking us out on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and of course Pinterest.

 

Happy New Year!



3 Busy Bags with Pipe Cleaners

Pin It

We are big fans of busy bags in our house.  Busy bags are basically self contained play that keep kids busy, brilliant to take with you to the doctors, restaurants etc.  Here are three that are easy to make and use pipe cleaners...

1 - Pipe cleaner push.  My sister made this one for her boys she got the idea from grow where they used pringle cans to push in pipe cleaners.  My sister used a spice jar which already had holes in it large enough to poke the pipe cleaners through.  Super easy and keeps little ones entertained for ages.

2 - Pipe cleaner threading.  In this busy bag I put pipe cleaners, Cheerios and dried penne pasta.  The original idea came from Chasing Cheerios, although they used string rather than pipe cleaners.  The boys thread the pasta and loops onto the pipe cleaner and sometimes if they're in the mood make bracelets.

Here's one of the pipe cleaners threaded.  I did dye the pasta with food colouring, but it's optional if you want to make this in minutes go without the colour you could always add some crayons and get the kids to decorate the pasta by colouring them.  And 'yes' sometimes they do eat the cheerios!

3 - Pipe cleaner discovery bottle.  The original idea for this came from Pre-School Play post about discovery bottles.  The idea is to use a magnet to play with pipe cleaners.  I found a cheap magnet pen and because of the metal in the pipe cleaners they stick to it really well.

The magnet also works great with paper clips.  Add these into a bottle and you can move the magnet around the outside and see how the paper clips and pipe cleaners move.

This is what it all looks like in a bag.  The boys can then choose to put the pipe cleaners and paper clips in the bottle or just play with them with the magnet.

I hope you've enjoyed these busy bag ideas.  If you'd like to see more busy bag ideas check out these previous busy bag blog posts.

3 Craft Stick Busy Bags

Pin It

I'm a big fan of Busy Bags.  To me a busy bag is a self contained activity that fits in a bag and keeps kids busy!  We take them to restaurants, church, doctors, anywhere we think we might need some child friendly distraction.

Here are three quick and easy ideas for busy bags with craft / popsicle / lollipop sticks.


1 - Magnetic Shape Sticks
The idea came from Teach Preschool and awesome blog with heaps of very original ideas.  I basically hot glued magnets to the end of the craft sticks, I chose to put magnets on both sides, but you could just do one side.  This is what they look like...

...and this is how we play with them on a small baking tray.  Yes, it does look a little weird when you whip out a baking tray at your table in a restaurant for the first time, but magnets make for great fun!

2 - Colour Matching Sticks

This busy bag was made for me by my lovely sister Auntie E and she got the idea from Roots and Wings Co.  She recently got a sewing machine so is now our go to girl for all sewing related crafts!  She whipped up some coloured covers for these jumbo craft sticks and wrote the colours on the sticks and added a small piece of coloured material to each stick.  Thanks Auntie E!

3 - Puzzle Sticks

This lovely busy bag was made from my other lovely sister Auntie B, she got the idea from Second Story Window.  She took a picture and pasted it with glue then stuck all the sticks down side by side.  She then let it dry and then separated them with a craft knife.  This is how they are when given to the boys....

....this is how they look when the puzzle is completed!  Thanks Auntie B!

I hope you've enjoyed these busy bags you can check out my other busy bag posts here or my busy bag pinboard here.

Octonauts Sea Life Play Mat

Pin It

Bud and Champ love the Octonauts so I thought I'd make them a play mat for them to use to create their own Octonaut missions!  If you're not familiar with the Octonauts it's an animated children's programme, where the characters explore, rescue and protect the ocean!

I took six blue sheets of paper and on three of them added yellow paper to look like sand and green seaweed.  Then I laminated each sheet and taped them together.  The next step was to add some Octonauts characters.  I cut these out from a magazine, but they could be printed out.  I laminated these, then added Velcro to the backs and Velcro to the mat like this...

Because everything has been laminated it means you can draw on it with dry erase pens.  So you can add as much of your own imaginary sea life as you like.

Then here's the finished product...

And a close up!

Then where it's taped together you can fold up the mat so that it's easy to carry and take with you to add to a busy bag.  I packed the characters and dry erase pens in a bag and we're good to go!  It was a big hit when we got it out at Church, there was a lot of shark drawing going on!

First time here?  Thanks for coming!  If you enjoyed this post why not subscribe?

Mini chalkboard busy bag

Pin It

I saw the idea for this mini chalkboard on the Hobbycraft website.  I took a small, cheap 4"x6" photoframe and took out the glass then I used chalkboard paint on the piece of paper that was under the glass.  I then cut a piece of cardboard to size and popped into the back of the frame to strengthen it a bit.

Here's the finished product.  Really cheap to put together, especially if you already have the chalkboard paint, as the frame cost me less than a £1.

This is it in it's bag, ready to be pulled out!  I added some chalks and a little rag to wipe the board clean.

And here it is in action!

Clothes pegs (pins) busy bags

Pin It

I love busy bags (if you've not heard of them they're as described - a bag of goodies to keep your little ones busy).  They always provide a bit of distraction and something new when tempers fray or I'm in an environment where the kids need to keep occupied like in a restaurant.  Plus, I love that I can just pick them up and go.  There are heaps of ideas for busy bags online, like on my busy bag pinboard as well as on these sites which were inspiration for these clothes peg busy bags - Homeschooling in the rose garden, Planet of the Apels and Second Story Window.

For this I used my star puncher on paint chips to make these, putting one star on a peg and one on the paper which I then laminated.

Here it is in action with Champ colour matching the pegs to the paper stars.  It took a bit of practise for him to be able to squeeze the pegs, but he's got it now.  Yes, he is sat in his little brother's highchair - don't ask!

And, here it is in its little bag.  All packed and ready to go.

I was then chatting to my sisters about busy bags and they've both since made some.  Auntie B made these two, the number wheel above and the colour pegs below.  The colour matching was particularly easy she just used a bit of cereal packet for the card and then coloured in the pegs.  Her tip if you want to copy this one is to leave a bigger space after the word so that when you clip the peg on it doesn't cover up the writing.

Here's Bud using the number wheel, he found this one a bit more challenging than the colours.

Another great idea is to do a mini clothes line with pegs in a busy bag - one for the future for us!

Cars Play Mat Busy Bag

Pin It

Busy bags for me are such a great idea!  If you're new to them I'd describe them as something that keeps your little one busy and fits in a bag!  You should be able to pick them up and go, with no need to add anything in, and where possible they shouldn't need replenishing once used.  I use them in restaurants, in church, at the doctors and when I need to keep Champ busy during the day I have a new activity ready to go with no prep.

There are heaps of busy bags online (check out my pin boards pinterest.com/hannahlouharris) and I thought I'd seen one like mine before, but now I can't find any so apologises if I haven't correctly given credit to this idea.

This one started as a cheap plain play mat (50p from Wilkos!) that I drew some roads on with a permanent pen and added a car set that came with a few road cones and signs (£1 from Poundland).  Then I stuck them in a bag and we were good to go!

But, the boys had other ideas!  One time when I got it out they decided we needed to add in some extras, and these stretched my very limited drawing skills!  But, on the mat we now have a hospital, an airport, a forest, our house, Granny & Granddad's house and Grandma & Pa's house!

Then it all packs up into a little bag.  Lots more of these to come, lots of busy bags for my busy boys!