Busy Bag Swap

A couple of months ago I came across a busy bag swap on the Internet.  I was familiar with a busy bag but I had never heard of a busy bag swap! The idea of a busy bag swap caught my attention because I have been struggling with ideas for activities to do with Owen on these cold winter days where we are stuck inside.

Since we have moved to Tennessee I have met several other moms from playgroups, toddler time at the library, church, and other moms whose husbands are in medical school, so I knew I could get a big group that would be interested in a swap.  I sent out an invitation to some of the moms of toddlers and preschoolers that I had met and told them they could also invite anyone they knew who may be interested.  We ended up with 14 people sign up for the swap!

Here's the info from the invitation for the swap:

- Each person will come up with ONE idea for a Busy Bag. (You can google "Busy Bag" to find some cute ideas if you are needing inspiration!) ...
-The craft/activity that you make should be self-contained, inexpensive, reusable, something the kids can do independently, and should fit in a gallon zip-lock bag.
-You will make enough of your bags for all those participating in the swap. (For example, if we have 15 people participating in the swap, I will make 15 of the same craft/activity. I will come to the swap with 15 gallon zip-lock bags of the same craft/activity.)
-If you would like to be a part of the Busy Bag swap, let me know via e-mail, or fb by Wednesday, January 18th and I will send you an e-mail or fb message letting you know how many baggies you will be making! :)
-Please feel free to invite other moms who have toddlers/preschoolers!! The more moms that participate the better and bigger our Busy Bags will be!!
-We will meet at my house on Saturday January 28th at 7:30 to swap our baggies!! Bring a dessert or finger food and I will provide the drinks as we enjoy some mommy time!! :)
-If you are not able to attend the swap on January 28th you can still participate! You will just need to get me your baggies before the swap and we will make your bag for you!

On the night of the swap, we had 1 person not show up so we each came with 14 bags but only needed 13. Since we each had an extra activity we made a bag for friend of mine back home who has 3 year old little girl and who is on bed rest with the second baby.

Before we shared our activities, we enjoyed some yummy snacks!

We went around the room and introduced ourselves, told how many kids we have and their ages, and shared/demonstrated our activity.

Passing out my busy bag activity!

Jessica telling us about her I-spy jar she made! Sooooo cool!!

Me and Michelle :)

Brittany passing out her awesome traffic light bean bag activity!!

Michelle demonstrating her whale lacing activity.

The first busy bag swap group picture! :) 

Here are pictures of all of the different activities that we each have for our busy bags!!

This is a shape tracing activity.  Amber P. printed out and laminated 5 different shapes and included a car to trace the shape.  You could also use play dough to form the different shapes.

I made hot glue rubbings.  I cut up boxes and made a sun, flower, heart, smiley face, and a star out of hot glue.  I included several different color crayons in each of my bags.

Summer made a color wheel with colored clothespins to match.

 Michelle made a lacing whale out of foam and yarn.

Carrie made preschool poker using different color poker chips.  This was a neat idea because you can do so many different things with the chips!  She included some of the different ways you could use them in her bag!

Jessica made the I-spy jar using rice and different little objects.  The kids shake and roll around the jar to find the objects pictured on the front!

Lori dyed different shapes and types of pasta and included pipe cleaners and yarn! The kids could string the pasta, make necklaces, or just sort the pasta into different colors!

Kendra made this really cool fishing game out of felt!

Heather made this neat bag out of hair gel and glitter!  We all enjoyed this one while she was passing them out! The kids can make shapes, letters, ect. using their fingers!

 

Nina made homemade playdough!

Laura made this bag and included a Q-tip to draw on the bag! I had fun with this bag as I was taking the picture! 

Amer G. made another sensory bag using dish soap! So much fun to play with!!

Brittany made this awesome stop light game using bean bags!  She included several different ideas for what to do with the stop light and matching bean bags! She actually made the bean bags herself! :)

So...here is a busy bag for Owen complete with 13 different activities (and I only had to come up with one idea)!! :) I'm so excited to pull them out one at a time and let him play!

I am so excited to have another swap in a few months!! It was so much fun to see what everyone else had made! I have already been thinking about the next swap...maybe an Easter themed swap, or a spring/summer swap??