Busy Kiddos = Happy Mommies

During medical school, a fellow student-wife introduced a whole group of us student-wives to an incredible tool which has truly been a blessing for me, an overworked mommy (I mean, aren't we all?!). This is by far one of the greatest ways to keep your kiddo occupied and happy. It's inexpensive, simple, will last for years, keeps them away from the TV, helps them learn, and there is an unlimited supply of options to add to your collection! 

Did I get your attention?...

By the time my first baby was around 15-18 months old, it became very apparent to me that if I could just keep her occupied for 5-7 minutes straight, I could get LOADS of things done! Unload the dishwasher, start dinner, get a few rooms picked up, or simply put my feet up for a few quiet minutes. I know all of us mommies know how impossible it can feel to have any moments away from our little shadows without turning on the TV. Cleaning a toilet is NOT easy to do when you have curious little hands wanting to touch and get into everything while you're covered in bathroom germs. Yuck. 

But HOW in the world can we get those priceless minutes of an entertained child? Two words that will change your life:

Busy Bags

The idea is that you put together an activity (mostly by hand using fun, cost-friendly materials) that will keep your child occupied while learning something new. It could be super simple for a toddler, such as helping them with their hand-eye coordination, maybe introducing them to colors... or help preschool-aged children learn letters, numbers, patterns... or something fun for elementary school aged kids. These are activities that can be re-used over and over so you're not having to replace any of the items after each use. They should also be small and able to fit into a gallon sized ziploc bag, in order to keep them organized and protected. 

It's definitely do-able for any of you moms out there to start making one bag at a time for your own child(ren). I'm sure you already have some activities or games or printables you've previously put together (FHE games? church bag activities? preschool co-op lesson helpers?) which you could easily laminate and put into a ziploc baggie. But one of the most genius ways to start your own busy-bag collection is to organize a group of interested friends and do a Busy Bag Exchange! This is the most cost-effective way to build up a good amount of activities for your own family. 

Think about it... if you have 5 friends who are interested, and you each work on 1 activity... each making 5 total copies of that activity... then you exchange... you have only spent a few dollars and in return have 5 bags of fun, instructive games for your child! What if you had 10 friends? What if you each made 2 busy bags (one for toddlers, and one for preschool aged kids)? Say you spend about $1 on each bag when all of your materials are purchased? That comes out to be 20 busy bags for your kids to play with for only the $20 you put into your own materials! 

The very best source (in my humble opinion) for information on putting together busy bags, looking for cute ideas of what to make, and a great how-to on organizing an exchange, please go to this site and look over the 3-part post on that website. It's absolutely worth it! Just start small if it seems overwhelming at first. And make sure to stress the importance to everyone involved that they need to keep their own costs minimal if they want it to be cost-effective for themselves. Some activities have materials that can be pricey ... so be choosy when finding "the one" you'd like to make yourself. Another great source is, of course, Pinterest. Simply type in "busy bags" and you'll instantly find a gazillion options. 

My own children, especially my oldest (now 4 years old), ADORES these busy bags when I pull them out. She calls them "games". She can learn, create, explore, test her own knowledge, and stay busy all on her own for small periods of time. Some of them are messy (dyed noodles or rice) and I only pull those out when I'm feeling extra generous and I'm willing to stay close-by ... but the rest are easy to transport, easy to pull out, easy to hand over into her anxious hands! They are wonderful and are such a blessing on those days that I just need her to stay occupied for a little while so I can have some peace. ;)

If you have any questions, please feel free to reply to this post and I'd be happy to help with any tips or guidance!

-F. Nightingale