Party Carpool Meet Up - Starting Now

Well, like other road trips, I've stayed up all night preparing for the trip. Literally. It's nearly 6:00 a.m. and I have yet to go to bed. My kids will be waking up in about an hour and a half.

Ah, but who cares about sleep. Let's go! Everybody jump in. And no fighting over the front seat, okay?

Buckled in? Good.

Alright, here we are...

Tada! I give you Kidlet Occupation! (Please pardon any messes you find. We're still cleaning up.)

Now let's party!

Be sure to enter the giveaways. five lucky guests will walk away with loot.

If you've been itching to join the coveted preschool swap, now's your chance.

And check out the store. Everything is $5 off through Friday, November 4th. (And you get extra giveaway entries when you make a purchase.)

Go have fun!


Oh and this is definitely a totally open party. Invite anyone you wish.

It's a Grand Opening PARTY!!!

I can hardly stand the excitement!! Tomorrow marks the launch of our brand new busy bag website. I can't wait to show you all what my husband and I have been working so hard on. I'm ready for a PARTY already!

But since we're keeping the location a suprise, just meet me here tomorrow and we'll carpool over to the busy bag party.

You'll be able to purchase busy bag sets at discounted prices... just in time for Christmas!

You'll get the opportunity to join the most popular busy bag swap online... but hurry! They fill up super fast.

And best of all, you'll have the chance to win one of five great prizes!!! So, get on over here tomorrow and have some F-U-N!!

Busy Bags, Swaps, and Giveaways - Mark Your Calendar

Do you have anything going on Tuesday, November 1st? We do. This date marks the launch of something completely new and exciting. We'll be organizing another preschool swap (with lower shipping costs!). We'll be hosting giveaways - your chance to win your own busy bag set. And... you'll have the opportunity to purchase busy bag sets at a special introductory price.

So, mark your calendar for November 1st, and don't miss the fun!

Most Loved Toys - Vol. 2

Balloons

 While we do not have balloons around everyday, we certainly do not reserve them only for birthdays. It's just an empty rubber bubble, yet so much fun for a kid. Whoever came up with the idea really should have been paid a million dollars. I have a feeling he didn't.

Yes, that is my kid licking a balloon.

Big Box of Pom-Poms

Yes, it makes a mess every.single.time the box of pom poms are out, but for some reason, that box holds the magic to entertain all four kids at the same time. Into the box I threw a few small containers, some serving tongs, and an old Christmas candy jar. The kids play candy store, scoop and dump, throw snowballs (uh, yeah. not my favorite), stuff them in their shirts... whatever pops into their little heads.



{For those who are also Money Saving Mom readers, I promise that while she beat me to it, I am not just copying her post today. I took these pictures last weekend and woke up this morning with the intention of writing this post tonight. Honest, really and truly. I take no blame for making you want to run to the nearest craft store to buy pom poms.}

Most Loved Toys - Vol. 1

This week's most played with toy...

Wooden Train Tracks and Vehicles

(Pardon the flash-erized photos. Our living room has terrible lighting,
 and Photoshop is down. {insert sobbing face here})

Math and Reading Activity Swap Sign Up

This Swap Is Closed

Please allow one week from the date the swap was closed (11:59 pm, Mon, Sept. 5) to hear from a coordinator.

So, fiiiiiiiinally, here's your chance to sign up for the math and reading swap. I know it would have be so nice to have this done before school started. I wish it had been.

So, here's the scoop...

This swap form will be open until midnight Monday (eastern time). If (due to the holiday weekend) not many people sign up. It may be extended.

1.  READ THIS POST before going any further. (If you already read the new procedures, make sure you check out some changes in #9.) Still think you'd like to join the swap? Then move on...

2.  Look through the following list of activities, and choose you top three choices. Activity assignments will be made on a first come, first served basis. While we will take your top three choices into consideration, there is no guarantee that you will be assigned one of them.

I did not have time to check all the activities to insure they are within a $1 per bag budget. Please price out your activity before starting. If it is going to put you over budget, let me or your coordinator know right away, and I will either help you fit it in, or assign you a new activity.

A lot of these activities are paper ones requiring printing and sometimes laminating. It's just the nature of school related activities. If you do not have a printer or access to a laminating machine, please let us know in the comments section of the form. Lamination is only required if the activity will be used for dry erase purposes. Please print non-laminated items on cardstock, unless otherwise noted.

Math and Reading Activities

Reading

Spin and Spell - any letter combinations to create any words
(Use a sharpie to label nuts with letters, rather than stickers and mod podge.)


Zap! Sight Word Game - sight words
(Scroll down. Third one in the list. Please include a container of some sort, such as disposable drinking cups, from which to draw the popsicle sticks.)


Sight Word Wheel - sight words
(Scroll way down, about half way down the page. Can use paper plates.)


Word Doctor - CVC words
(Print on cardstock. Lamination is optional. Supply tweezers, but skip the other props. Tweezers can be found in a 2 pack at Dollar Tree.)


Letter Tiles and Two Vowels Speller Cards - two vowels go walking rule
(Print only pages 6 & 7 on cardstock. Lamination is optional.)


Silent E Worksheets - silent e words
(Print only two pages. Laminate back to back, or put them back to back in a sheet protector. Or cover with contact paper. Provide a dry erase marker (packs of 4 at Dollar Tree) or a washable crayon.)


R-Controlled Four in a Row - r controlled vowels
(Print on cardstock. Lamination optional. Include a die.)


Contraction Camera Game - contractions
(You do not need to include the recording sheet. Print on cardstock. Lamination is optional.)


Silly Sentence Game - general reading
(Print on colored paper and laminate OR print on colored cardstock. [different color for the three sentence parts].)


CVC Donuts - CVC words
(Print on cardstock. Lamination is optional.)


Digraph Die - th, ch, sh, wh, tr, dr
(Feel free to diviate from the die template. Use can use small 3/4" blocks  or foam cubes and write on them with a sharpie. Please use the following digraphs and blends: the, ch, sh, wh, tr, dr.)


Toss, Read, and Write - cl, bl, fl, pl, gl, sl
(Scroll about a quarter way down the page until you come to the photo of a muffin tin. You do not need to include a recording sheet with this activity. Just the muffin tin [or other such item, if it the foil muffin pans are too expensive] with the sections labled, and a pom pom. Please use the following sounds: cl, bl, fl, gl, pl, sl.)


Power Tower - ay, eigh, ow, ou, ew, ui, ei, igh
(Use 3 oz. paper water cups. Walmart has packs of 100 Dixie cups for under $4. You do not need to provide Pringles canisters. Please use words with the following sounds: ow [as in cow], ou [as in out], ew [as in new], ui [as in fruit], ei [as in reign], eigh [as in neigh])


Ah! Cute Babies File Folder Game - au, aw, and short o
(Printing on regular copy paper is fine. Use whatever file folders you wish.)


Making Words File Game - combining beginning, middle, and ending sounds
(Printing on regular paper is fine. Use whatever file folders you wish. I am unsure of the cost of the post its. You are welcome to come up with a different way, if needed.)



Math

Place Value Cups - place value
(Provide cups, counting items, and one recording sheet. The receiving moms can print more should they wish to.)


Fraction Action - basic fractions
(Purchase 3 large foam shapes per bag [circles, squares, or rectangles - check Dollar Tree]. Leave one whole and write the number one in the middle. Cut the other in half, and write 1/2 on each half. Cut the last shape in 1/4s and label each quarter with "1/4". Use these as teaching tools and also as puzzles, by asking the child to creat 3/4, etc.)


Felt Number Tiles - provides hands on equation building
(Please provide numbers 1-10 and the signs +, -, and =.)


Bankrupt! Money Game - coin values
(Provide popsicle sticks with plastic or paper [cardstock] coins glued on, and a container such as a disposable drinking cup from which to draw the popsicle sticks.)


Odds and Evens Game - odd and even numbers
(This link is a round about way to get to the directions. Scroll past all the photos. Click on the first sentence of the third paragraph under the photos. This will open a Word document with several math games listed. Odds and Evens is the first game on the list. Please provide counters [such as beans] and a pair of dice.)


Round It Game - rounding to the nearest ten
(This link is a round about way to get to the directions. Scroll past all the photos. Click on the first sentence of the third paragraph under the photos. This will open a Word document with several math games listed. Odds and Evens is the second game on the fourth page. Please provide a deck of cards [2 pk. at Dollar Tree] and a hundreds chart printed on cardstock.)


Add and Subtract Mat - addition and subtraction
(Please print board and pieces on cardstock. Lamination is optional. Paper counters are optional. you may provide beans or other small items in place of the paper counters.)


Bill Buster File Folder Game - quarters to dollars & dollars to quarters
(This is another file folder game. Print pieces on regular copy paper. Use whatever folder you wish. Contact me if you need help figuring out the assembling.)


Time is Up! Game - telling time, digital and analog clocks
(Please provide 2 game boards printed on cardstock and some sort of game pieces marked with digital times [can be squares cut from foam sheets or whatever else you can think of that fits in the budget]).


Measurement Journal - measuring
(Please provide measuring tool(s) [as many as you can fit in your budget]. Ideas: a ruler [check Dollar Tree for pacaks], measuring spoons, measuring tape, plastic measuring glass. Include a small notebook [look for packs of tiny composition books or spiral flip notebooks] for child to record what he measures and its measurement.)


Counting Coconuts - counting & beginning addition
(Scroll down until you see a felt coconut tree. Please provide a small felt board [a half sheet of felt glued to a half sheet of cardstock], a felt coconut tree, 12 felt coconuts, and 2 die [Dollar Tree].)


Shape Graphing - shapes & bar graphs
(Scroll down to the sixth photo. Print sheet and laminate [or cover with contact paper or slip into a sheet protector]. Create a shapes die using a small wooden block or foam cube. Use a sharpie to draw shapes on the die. Please also include a dry erase marker [Dollar Tree] or washable crayon.)


Egg Carton Shake It Up - equation practice
(If this activity is assigned to you and you do not have access to egg cartons, let me or your coordinator know immediately. We can assign you another activity. You may substitute the erasers for any small item, such as large beans.)


Dice Greater or Lesser - greater than, lesser than
(Print, laminate [or contact paper or sheet protectors]. Include dice {Dollar Tree] and a dry erase marker [Dollar Tree] or washable crayon.)


Reading or Math

Flippin' Cookies - any skill
(Print, laminte, cut out pieces. Please include a dry erase marker [Dollar Tree]. True laminatation works best for this activity. Please do not substitute contact paper as it is not stiff enough. If you are assigned this activity and do  not have access to a home laminator, please let me or your coordinator know right away.)


Build a Sandwich - any skill
(Print, laminate, and cut out pieces. Please provide a dry erase marker [Dollar Tree].)


Fish for Knowlege - any skill
(Link provides the concept. To make it busy bag friendly: Create a fishing rod using an unsharpened pencil, yarn [string, etc.], and a strong magnet. Create simple fish shapes. Attach a paper clip. Laminate. Include a dry erase marker [Dollar Tree] or washable crayon. Parent writes words or equations, etc. on the fish. Student catches one fish at a time and reads the word or answers the equation.)



3. Fill out the form below. If you wish to simply be assigned an activity without listing your preferences, please select "other" in the activity drop down menus.

4. You will be contacted by a coordinator within a week.

Brand New Busy Bag Swap Procedures

I don't know about you all, but I am loving all this swap stuff. It's so fun to see all the busy bags that you all create. Love the creativity that flows through your veins.

As the last three swaps have progressed, it has become apparent that some changes need to be made to the swapping procedures in order to make things run smoothly and ensure everyone has a fun and wonderful experience.

These changes will go into effect in future swaps. If you are in the middle of a current swap, please follow the directions given by your coordinator.

So, with no further ado....

_____________________________________________

Busy Bag Swap Procedures

This is a conjunctive group. The success of this swap depends on the success of each
member. The end goal of 30 different activities for each swapper is only possible so long
as each swapper creates 30 bags of the same activities and ships them to the coordinator on
time and maintains proper communication with the coordinator.


1. Sign up using the form on the swap post representing the desired swap. Be sure to
specify your activity preferences.

2. The form will be open only for as long as specified in that swap's post.

3. Once closed, those who signed up will be split into as many groups of 30 as possible.
The names remaining will be kept as fill ins should participants drop out as the swap
progresses. The swap groups are assigned on a first come, first serve basis. The sooner
you sign up, the more likely you are to be in a group of swappers.

4. Activities will be assigned to each swapper in each group based on a first come, first
serve basis. If there are four people all wanting to do the same activity, the one who
signed up first will be assigned that activity. If every one of a swapper's choices are
taken, they will be assigned a different activity. (If you have a problem with your assignment, please contact your coordinator right away.)

5. Each group of 30 will be assigned to a coordinator. The coordinator will receive their
swappers' names, email addresses, and activity assignments.

6. The coordinator will email everyone in their group, informing them that they made it in
to the swap. All the fill ins will be emailed informing them of their place in line.

7. Each swapper is responsible to make sure they receive all emails from their coordinator.
If you do not hear anything within a few days of the swap form being closed, you should
look in your junk mail folder. If you find nothing there, please email me (link provided in
sidebar).

8. Once you receive the email from your coordinator, you should reply acknowledging receipt. It is your responsibility to keep communicating with your coordinator so they know for sure that you are still participating.

9. You will have 1 week to send your coordinator $15.65, using Paypal's options in their personal tab (to avoid incurring fees), to cover the cost of shipping the 30 different busy bags back to you. $15.65 covers the cost of the large flat rate box and an extra 70 cents for delivery confirmation. Your shipping payment is your ticket into the swap. You will not receive your activity assignment until your payment is received.

Paypal's Person Tab:

*If you are joining us from Canada, please provide the amount needed to cover shipping from the U.S. to Canada. Just let your coordinator know you're from Canada and, together, you can choose the shipping method.

10. If you should need to drop out of the swap, please inform you coordinator as soon as
possible, BEFORE THE "SHIP BY" DATE, so she can find a fill in, and refund your shipping
payment.

11. If you should not have your busy bags to your coordinator on time, or drop out AFTER
THE "SHIP BY" DATE, your $15.65 will be used by the coordinator to fund a replacement
activity to make up for the absence of your activity.

12. Once you have received your activity assignment from your coordinator, you will have a
time frame for preparing your busy bags and getting them into the mail. This will be 2
weeks from the "send payment by" date, or as specified by the coordinator.

13. You are responsible to have your busy bags finished and mailed by the date given by
your coordinator. You will also be given a date by which your coordinator will need to
receive your busy bags. Please keep this date in mind as you choose your shipping method.

14. If your coordinator does not receive your busy bags by the date specified, she will
have to send out the boxes without your activity. Please make sure you have your package of
busy bags to your coordinator by the date specified.

15. Your coordinator will email you when the busy bags boxes have been mailed out to the
swappers.

16. Wait about 3 business days, and you should have a box of 30 activities waiting for you
and your children to enjoy!


Nutshell:

1. Form will be up for time specified (usually 2 days)
2. Cooridinator will email each participant (within a week of form closing)
3. Swappers paypal shipping payment to coordinator (1 week)
4. Swappers assemble and ship busy bags (2 weeks)
5. Coordinators receive and repackage busy bags and ship them out (2 weeks)

_____________________________________________

 

These rules will be linked on the Busy Bag page for easy finding.

And that's that. Any questions?

K-2nd Swap Enters Its Last Stretch!

By now, the K-2nd swap groups should be reaching their shipping deadline, if they have not already. Make sure your package is mailed on time to your coordinator and arrives to them by the "have it to me" date they stated in their original email.

This swap is going so much smoother than the last, so far. Thanks to all my wonderful coordinators and their willingness to keep communication going with all the swappers. I know that equals to hours of emailing, but it certainly keeps things going smoothly.

Thank you, too, to all you swappers out there. You have done a marvelous job communicating with your coordinators. And the actvities I've seen come in so far, are absolutely great!

K-2nd Swap Activity Assignemnts Sent to Coordinators

FINALLY, after many hurdles along the way, the K-2nd swap is sorted and ready to go. Thanks to my marvelous husband and the many nights he stayed up until 2 am (and still got up at 5:45 for work), I now have a database that sorts the activities for me. With the exception of having to settle activity choice conflicts, the lists came to me all sorted out.

The activity assignments have been sent out to the coordinators and you should hear from your coordinator by Wednesday, Aug. 10th. PLEASE, respond to this email so that we know you are receiving emails. If you do not receive anything, check your junk mail folders. If there is nothing there, contact me.

The coordinators are Brenda P (myself), Marcia F, Natalie A, Jessica T, and Tracye G.

Please add my email address to your address book (brenners at the herd . us). If your coordinator does not hear from you, she will let me know and I will retry. If my address is in your address book, your email server should not put my emails into your junk mail folder.

Please contact your coordinator should anything come up. We are doing our best to make this an enjoyable experience for you.

K-2nd Swap COMING VERY SOON - **PROMISE**

I super duper double promise that I am not ignoring, procrastinating, or dumping the k-2nd swap.

My toddler swap boxes are going out Monday. The preschool swap is now mostly drama free and I'm just waiting on the last 4 boxes to come in.

That being said, the K-2nd swap will begin very soon. I cannot wait for all these activities to come in. I'm super excited about this one.

K-2nd gr. Busy Bag Swap

This is just a quick note to let you know that I will not be sending out the activity assignments tonight. There are too many loose strings with the preschool swap that I need to tie up before I can take on more. Hindsight is telling me that perhaps four different swaps with multiple coordinators was a little much all at once. J I will be sending out the list of names and activities for each group to the coordinators very soon. It just won’t be in the timeframe I originally planned for. I am sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

This Swap is Now Closed.

There will be 5 groups of 30 and 28 fill ins. If you do not hear from your coordinator by Thursday, the 28th (this accounts for not working on the weekend), please check your junk and spam folders.

To keep your email service from sorting the swap emails to the junk folder, add my email address to your email address book.

brenners at the herd . us 

This swap is for K - 2nd gr. ONLY. If you're looking for the toddler or preschool swap, they are closed. If you are looking for the Math and Reading only, it will be posted soon.

This swap will include 30 activities and 30 swappers + fill ins for each group. 


Want to join this one?

Step 1: Please review the following list of activities. Choose your top three choices of which you would like to create, or let me know if you have another idea that is not listed here. Other ideas are welcome. (While we take your choices into consideration, there is no guarantee that you will be assigned one of your choices.)

You may need to be creative when you brainstorm your activity to make it fit into the budget or into your current stock of stuff around the house. It's ok to deviate from the original instructions.


Check out this list of good deals to be found at Dollar Tree, Target, and Walmart.

Reading/Language Activities


Sight Word Popsicle Stick Game


Letter Tiles and CVC Word Speller Cards
(CVC pages only)


Flippin Cookies


Letter Tiles and Long Vowels Word Speller Cards
(Two Vowels Go Walking [ae, oa, etc.] and/or Silent E pages only)


Math Activities

Fraction Action
(For each bag you will need 4 large foam circles, squares, or rectangles [great price at Dollar Tree]. Leave one whole. Write a big 1 in the middle. Cut the second one in half. Write 1/2 on each piece. Third one in 1/3s, and the last one in 1/4s. Child will treat the pieces as a puzzle. They must put them together to create 4 whole shapes.)


Paint Stick Number Line
(Number Line Stickers are at Dollar Tree in the teachers' section.)

Math Circles or Felt Number Tiles (with +, -, x, division, and =)(Unless you love to cut circles or have a 1.25" - 1" circle punch, you might not want to commit to the math circles, or maybe cut them in squares instead.)


Bankrupt! Money Game


Science Activities

What's Magnetic?
(A magnet and several small objects to test magnetity on. A chart to record findings)


Materials Scavenger Hunt


Backyard Boredom Flipbook


Other Skills


Shoe Tying Card


Art Dice


Just for Fun

Masking Tape Fun
(A roll of masking tape and a list of tape activity ideas)

Hardware Play
(Nuts, bolts, and other inexpensive hardware)

Chalk Games - Annihilation & London Calling
(Sidewalk chalk and an inexpensive water gun. Write words or answers to math sums or pics or anything on sidewalk. Parent (or other child) calls out words, math problems, etc. and player squirts the answer. Continue until all words, etc. have disappeared. London Calling instructions linked above.)

Pom Pom Shooters
(Only with pom-poms instead of marshmallows to avoid spoilage)

Balloon Paddle Ball
(About halfway down the page)

Stretchy and Activity Cards
(I'm unsure on the cost of lycra fabric. I don't know if this would fit a $1/bag budget.)

Snowflake Builder


Eye Spy Bottle


Memory Game (wooden discs & felt, fabric scraps, miniature, wood squares, recycle kids' books)
(These are just ideas. I was thinking something more substantial than paper... wood, ez felt, foam? I'm not so sure this age group would really get into just another paper matching game. The set should probably consist of at least 6 matches.)


Popsicle Stick Puzzle
(Can be smaller than 16 popsicle sticks. Perfect if you have lots of old magazines or calendars.)

Spooning Beads
(Parents can give their child and egg carton and maybe let the child rummage through the kitchen junk drawer for other things to play with along with the beads. My 6 year old really enjoys this. You could maybe include yarn, if it's in the budget, in case they want to make jewelry.)

Playdough and Playdough Mat(s)
(Lots to choose from!)


Egg Puzzles
(Made from similarly patterned paper [hard to differentiate] or from felt or cardstock of all one color with different cut patterns... to make it harder for big kids)


Ping Pong Basketball
(Could use plastic cups rather than containers. This could be played alone as well, and would not have to be so complicated... just try to bounce the ball in a cup. Two or three cups could be placed in a line so that the last is farther away. Each cup could be a different score.)


Felt Board and Felt Pieces to Create a Scene
(One sheet of felt glued to one sheet of cardstock OR half a sheet of EZ felt. The felt play pieces should be things they can use to build a scene... examples, but DO NOT SEW, do not include toys, and it doesn't have to be as elaborate - simplify it: construction and train, farm, dinos, castle, meadow)


Catapult
(This requires a small block of wood, like a 2x4. If you've got scraps lying around or are not intimidated by power tools, like some people {ahem}, then this might be perfect for you.

Pinchers & Small Items
(Salad servers or something like it [check Dollar Tree] and small items like pom poms [or anything else that would work]. Child uses the pinchers to pick up items.)





Step 2: Read the general overview of the swaps, if you haven't yet.


Step 3: If you're absolutely sure this is something you want to do, fill out the form below. This form will be taken down in 48 hours or when a "ridiculous" number of swappers is reach. (he he)

Filling out the form is not a way of expressing interest. It is a commitment to be a part of the swap.If however, you do sign up with full intentions of participating, but then realize that for some reason you are unable to continue, please let me or your swap coordinator know right away, so that we can contact someone else who would love to be involved.

Step 4: Wait patiently to hear from your coordinator. You should receive an email in 3 days or less (from the time the swap is closed) informing you or either your activity assignment or your standing as a fill in. If you do not hear anything after 3 days, check your junk mail folder or spam folder. If you still hear nothing, email me.

Heads Up On Busy Bag Deals at Dollar Tree, Target, & Walmart

I scouted things out at Dollar Tree today. Here's some things that might come in handy for the current swaps or those coming up...

Dry Erase Markers, 4 pack
Popsicle Sticks, 125 pack
Large Foam Shapes, 24 pack
Tweezers, 2 pack
Number Sticker Strip, 75 pack (I think. It's in a roll in the teachers section.)
Small/Medium Food Storage Containers, 4 pack (if I remember right)
Clothespins, 36 pack (I think)

Those ice cream bowls pictured in the spooning bead post by Walking By the Way. Don't know how budget friendly they would be for a swap, but they're cute.


At Walmart...
Pancake turner spatulas for 88 cents


At Target...
Dice, 10 pack (in the dollar spot section)

Preschool- Young K (adv. 2's-young Ks) Busy Bag Swap

This swap is now closed.

There will be 12 groups. Each group will have 2-3 fill ins. Your coordinator will contact you in the next few days. (There were 368 people, so please be patient. It will take me a while to group them all.)

If you have not been contacted, check your junk mail folder or spam folder.
If you cannot find an email from your coordinator, email me.

This swap is for Preschool- Young K ONLY. If you're looking for the toddler swap, it is re-opened! If you're wanting to join the K-2nd or the Math and Reading swaps, they are coming soon.

This swap will include 30  activities and 30 swappers + 5 or so fill ins per group.

Want to join this one?

Step 1: Please review the following list of activities. Choose your top three choices of which you would like to create, or let me know if you have another idea that is not listed here. Other ideas are welcome. If you participated in the swap last May, the activites will be very similiar to last time, but you are welcome to sign up again if you like.

You may need to be creative when you brainstorm your activity to make it fit into the budget or into your current stock of stuff around the house.

Shapes & Colors

--Shape Hunt & Sort

-- I Have, Who Has Game
(That's a lot of printing, but the game looks so fun. Wonder if you could play the game with just half the number of cards?)

--Double Trouble Shape Match

--Popsicle Color Match
(Make it with felt rather than paper to make it withstand the use of small children)

--Pom Pom Patterns


--Roll-a-Cise


 Numbers/Counting/Early Math

-- Number Wheel

 --Five Fabulous Frogs
(Can use any object and you can make your own sorting mats on smaller sheets of paper)

--Measure It

--Laminated Numeber Tracing Cards and a WASHABLE crayon or dry erase marker
(To keep the cost down, maybe you could just do one page, the numbers 1-12. If you use a crayon, it must be a Crayola washable crayon or it will not wipe off.)

--Felt Number Tiles and Bug Counting Cards


Alphabet

--Any of these alphabet activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler

--Felt Letter Tiles and Alphabet Tile Cards



Just for Fun

--Playdough and Play Mat(s)
(Some ideas: Number Mats, Letter Mats, Shape Mats look under "shapes", Berry Pie Mat, Carrot Planting, Facial Expressions, Feeding Giraffe, )

--Felt Cupcake Decorating


--Clothesline


--Spooning Beads


--Felt Snowflake Builder
(For the board, you can simply glue a sheet of felt to cardstock)

--No Sew Felt Fishing Game


Step 2: Read the general overview of the swaps, if you haven't yet.


Step 3: If you're absolutely sure this is something you want to do, fill out the form below. This form will be taken down Tuesday night or when a "ridiculous" number of swappers is reach. (he he)


Step 4: Feel free to invite your blog readers or friends to join in.


Filling out the form is not a way of expressing interest. It is a commitment to be a part of the swap. It is not fair to the other swappers if a handful of half hearted interest people sign up, only to flake out at some point. That would mean that many people spent time and money assembling 30 activities, but would not receive 30 in return. If you're not sure if you can handle the expense or the time investment at this time, then maybe you should pass this time around. If however, you do sign up with full intentions of participating, but then realize that for some reason you are unable to continue, please let me or your swap coordinator know right away, so that we can contact someone else who would love to be involved.

Young Toddler (1-2 yrs.)Busy Bag Swap

This swap is now closed.
There will be 2 swap groups of 15 with 5 fill ins for each group. You swap coordinator will contact you in the next several days.

If you have not been contacted, check your junk mail folder or spam folder.
If you cannot find an email from your coordinator, email me.

Alrighty... here we go.

This swap is for young toddlers (about 1-2 yrs.) ONLY. If you're looking for another age group, be patient; it's coming.

This swap will only include 15 activities (or however many activities people brainstorm), rather than 30, due to the lack of variety of simple activities for itty bitty critters.
Want to join this one?

Step 1: Please review the following list of activities. Choose your top three choices of which you would like to create, or let me know if you have another idea that is not listed here. Due to the limited number of simple, non-choking hazard activities for little fingers, we will probably end up with fewer than 30 activities for this swap. I will split up everyone who signs up into groups of 15 (or however many activities we end up with) rather than 30.

You may need to be creative when you brainstorm your activity to make it fit into the budget or into your current stock of stuff around the house. For example, the clank can really does not have to clank. It can be a sour cream container or cheap dollar store food storage containers. It does not have to be large, as it will not fit well into a box when it comes time to ship all 15 to your swap coordinator. You can use anything to insert in the slot, so long as it is not a choking hazard.


1. Pom Pom Bottles

2. Velcro Matching Rods -
(Set of 3 matching rods is sufficient. I'm finding it a challenge to make this fit in budget. If anyone already has supplies on hand, it may be more doable.)

3. Easter Eggs in an Egg Carton
(Half dozen is sufficient. You can cut an egg carton in half.)

4. Sponge Curlers

5. Swim Noodles on a Dowel or Rope
Someone creative enough to figure out how to attach a small length of dowel rod to the end of the rope to use as a "needle"?

6. Texture Cards

7. Pipe Cleaner Bottle
(Can substitute straws for pipe cleaners)

8. Pom Pom Stuff It In

9. Sponge Lacing

10. Clothespin Drop

11. I Spy Bottle

12. Laminated Flip Book

13. Clank Can
(Another picture here, at the bottom of the post)

14. Button Snake

15. Mini Felt Board (mid way through post)
(Glue two half sheets of felt to either side of a half sheet of card stock. Cut scrap felt in simple, larger shapes or shapes of common objects - cars, apples, etc.)


Step 2: Read the general overview of the swaps, if you haven't yet.


Step 3: If you're absolutely sure this is something you want to do, fill out the form below. This form will be taken down in 48 hours or when a "ridiculous" number of swappers is reach. (he he)

Filling out the form is not a way of expressing interest. It is a commitment to be a part of the swap. It is not fair to the other swappers if a handful of half hearted interest people sign up, only to flake out at some point. That would mean that many people spent time and money assembling 15 activities, but would not receive 15 in return. If you're not sure if you can handle the expense or the time investment at this time, then maybe you should pass this time around. If however, you do sign up with full intentions of participating, but then realize that for some reason you are unable to continue, please let me or your swap coordinator know right away, so that we can contact someone else who would love to be involved.

How the Busy Bag Swaps Will Work

If you have not heard from your coordinator and it has been more than 3 days since the swap you signed up for closed, please check your junk and spam folders. If you still cannot find something, email me. There are a lot of people not receiving their coordinator's email.

(If you would like to be notified of future swaps, please visit the Busy Bag Swap page.)

What is a busy bag? A busy bag is a ziploc bag containing an activity that would give your child something to keep them busy, either with you or without you. Visit the previous swap's post for more information.

There was so much interest in the last swap, and so many more people have expressed interest since then, that I decided to do more swaps. The busy bag swaps will be grouped by the following categories.

• Toddlers (ages 1-young 2s): very simple activities focusing on "in and out", "poking", "open and close", etc.
• Preschool-Young K (Adv. 2s-Young Ks): activities focusing on shapes, colors, alphabet, numbers, and just plain fun
• Kdg-2nd gr (those gaining reading skills): more advanced activities encouraging reading and math skills, but also lots of fun
• Reading and Math Activities Only (kdg.-2nd gr.): games and activities centering around basic reading and math skills

Each category will have its own blog post where you can sign up to join in the swap. Choose which swap (or swaps) you want to join and make sure you sign up in the right blog post. (I am working on getting each swap posted and will come back here and post a link in this post as I get them posted. If you don't see your swap category posted yet, be patient.)

Toddler Swap is now closed.

Preschool-Young K Swap is now closed.


K-2nd now posted.


Math & Reading coming soon.


What the difference between the K-2nd and the Math and Reading Only?

The first (k-2nd) is a set of activities that are mostly just fun (but may have hidden education in it). These are activities you can hand your child and let them entertain themselves for a while. They should be (hopefully) things that the child will want to do on their own. The goal is not so much to teach them as it is to give them something constructive to do.

The second (math and reading only) is for the sole purpose of teaching your child. These are games or activities that you can use in your homeschool or to reinforce what they are learning in school. They are not so much made for the purpose of giving your child something fun to do when they're bored as they are to make what they HAVE to do a bit mroe fun. The activities will be centered on math and reading only. There will be no "just for fun" stuff.

There are no people count limit (unless it gets ridiculous). We will just take all the people who sign up and split them into different swap groups. For example, if 90 people sign up for the preschool swap, we will split those 90 into 3 groups of 30 people. So we would have 3 preschool swaps going on simultaneously. Did that make any sense?

There have been a few people who volunteered to be swap coordinators. These people will be assigned a swap group to coordinate. They will sort through the top three choices of each swapper and assign activities. They will be responsible to keep in contact with the swappers throughout the swap, should they have questions. They will receive the busy bags from the swappers, compile them into sets for everyone, and then mail them out to each swapper. If you would be interested in coordinating a swap group, please email me (link in sidebar). Judging from the last swap, the activity sorting may take a couple hours, and the busy bag divvying and packaging will take about 4ish hours of your time one afternoon and a trip to the post office.

Here's how you become a swapper and how the swap will work:

1) You visit the blog post of your choice of swap category (or categories). Read the instructions, choose your top three choices for an activity to assemble, and then fill out the form. The form will be up and the swap open for 48 hours, unless the number of swappers becomes unmanageable.

Filling out the form is not a way of expressing interest. It is a commitment to be a part of the swap. It is not fair to the other swappers if a handful of half hearted interest people sign up, only to flake out at some point. That would mean that many people spent time and money assembling 30 activities, but would not receive 30 in return. If you're not sure if you can handle the expense or the time investment at this time, then maybe you should pass this time around. If however, you do sign up with full intentions of participating, but then realize that for some reason you are unable to continue, please let me or your swap coordinator know right away, so that we can contact someone else who would love to be involved.

2) I will sort through all the swappers, group them into swaps, and notify the coordinators. Each group will have 30 members and a list of 5 "fill ins" should someone drop out (to try to keep it at 30 people). These five will be taken from those who signed up last, so the sooner you sign up, the more likely you will for sure be a swapper.

3) Either I or your swap coordinator will contact you within about 3 days' time with your activity assignment.

4) You then have 2 weeks to assemble your busy bags (30 of the same activity). You need to have them in a box and in the possession of the U.S. Mail service exactly two weeks from the day you were contacted by me or your swap coordinator, or by the date stated in that email.

5) You should invest no more than about $1 per bag. We're not wanting to spend a fortune here. If you're having trouble sticking with the budget for your activity, please contact me and I will help you figure it all out.

6) Once you have your 30 bags assembled, you would pack them up in whatever size box you like and ship them using any shipping method you prefer to your coordinator.

7) But before you seal the box, visit USPS.com and print a shipping label with postage for a large flat rate box ($14.20).

Shipping change

I talked to the post master at my local post office about the mailing date that is required when printing a label. He was very kind and helpful, and assisted me in thinking through the best option for dealing with shipping the busy bags to you.

For legal liability reasons, a package must be mailed the day the shipping label says it was. Since the drop down on the Click-N-Ship label form only gives four days to choose from, there's really no way we can post date the shipping labels late enough to give the swap coordinator time to divvy the activities, package them up, and reship them. It also would not allow for any unexpected delays.

For this reason, it would be best for each swapper to include a check or money order, made out for $14.95, in their package of busy bags. Your swap coordinator will let you know who to write the check out to when she informs you of which activity you will assemble.

Please also include a 3x5 card (or equivalent sized paper) with your name and address clearly printed on it. Your swap coordinator will use this as a mailing label.

8) Remember, you need to have them in a box and in the possession of the U.S. Mail service exactly two weeks from the day you were contacted by me or your swap coordinator.

9) I or your swap coordinator will sort through the bags, divvy them up so everyone has one of each. If we do not receive your package by the date we previously stated in our email to you (when we assign the activity), we will contact a fill in and see if they would like to jump in at the last minute. If you take the time to assemble the bags, please make sure you send them on time.

10) Once the bags have been sorted and divvied, we will ship them to you, and we then each have a collection of about 30 activity bags to pull out when needed!

(If you would like to be notified of future swaps, please visit the Busy Bag Swap page.)

Two Homemade Fun Things for Toddlers

You know you've run across a great thing when your 1 and 2 year old sit occupied for a long length of time.

The first is rather simple. Take a juice bottle or container or yogurt container or other similiar contianer and fill it with pom poms. It's just a good ol' game of fill and dump.

Apparently, it's a good activity for my 6 year old too.

I've made a few laminated flip books and have been surprised at how much my 1 and 2 year olds enjoy them. Perhaps, for my 1 year old, it's the fact that the pages are super simple to turn.

One is made from the Letter Factory Flashcards made by Jessica over at Running With Scissors. Another is made from my All About Firemen printable found on my printables page. And the animal one was made using picture from a calendar.

Just find the photos you want to use, put two photos back to back for each page, laminate, punch holes, and hook them together with key rings.

No Sew Felt Fish

My kids love fishing with those magnetic fishing sets. Thing is... they never last long. The paper fish get ripped in half and the paper clips pulled off. I often find the clips all unfolded and poking up out of the carpet just waiting to snag its next victim.

I've found a lot of super cute felt fishing sets out there, like these from whipup.net or A Little Learning For Two or Sewing Stash Challenge or Shannon Makes Things or my favorite from Just Another Day in Paradise.

But they all require sewing and stuffing and other time consuming stuffs like that. I think it would be incredibly fun to make them. I just don't have the time to drag out the sewing machine and polyester stuffing. And if one was going to make them for a busy bag swap, I highly doubt anyone would want to spend time sewing up 90 fish.

So here's my rendition.

I made ten of these little fishies in about 10 minutes' time with just some felt, some washers, and a hot glue gun. The rod was made by one of the moms in our last swap, using an unsharpened pencil, a length of yarn, and a magnet.

Here's how I put the fish together...

First, I doubled up felt sheets of the same color and cut out simple fish shapes through both layers at the same time. Cutting through both layers insures that both sides of your fish are the same shape and size.

Next I glued the two layers of fish together with a washer in between the layers. I found it easiest to glue the tails together, lay the washer in, and then put a line of glue around the edges of the fish body and seal it up.

You could end it here, or you could add details with puffy paint or marker or what have you.

There you have it... it's quick, it's colorful, and most importantly, it's durable.

On the Cheap (collect no junk) Letter and Number Tiles

I've been scouring the internet for $1 per bag swap friendly ideas for the upcoming busy bag swap, which by the way, I hope to have organized and posted by next Monday night. I'm
finding a lot of ideas. However, some of them require recycling "junk"... bottle caps, milk
lids, egg cartons, juice cans, etc. This works great if you're making one set for yourself,
but multiply that by the number of bags for a swap, and it would take you years to collect
enough junk.

Take for example, these very clever milk cap letter tiles from Totschool. Very awesome idea to reuse
something that you would otherwise throw away. But you would need 26 caps for the entire
alphabet. Multiply that by 30 sets, and you would need 780 milk caps. If your family goes
through two gallons of milk a week, it would take you 7 and a half years to collect enough
milk caps for a swap.

So I racked my brain for a better idea, and here's what I came up with...

For 30 sets, you will need:
8 EZ Felt Sheets (for alphabet tiles) OR
6 EZ Felt Sheets (for 1-20 number tiles)
4 (?) small bottles of white Puffy Paint

The EZ Felt is a very stiff felt that comes in 12x16 sheets and costs 79 cents a sheet at
Hobby Lobby. You can get 108, 1.25" tiles from each sheet. That's a little over 4
alphabets or a little over 5 number sets (1-20) per sheet.

I love the look of circles, but knowing that, if I were cutting 30 sets of tiles, I'd rather
not have to cut all those circles, I decided on  1.25" squares.

I tried to use my little Fiskars paper trimmer to cut the squares. The blade was not long
enough to cut all the way through, but it did an awesome job scoring straight lines. I
barely had to open and close the scissors... just slide it along the scored lines. If you
have a more heavy duty paper cutter, I'm sure it would slice right through the felt nicely.

Once I had my squares cut, I got out my puffy paint and started handwriting class all over
again. You may want to practice a tiny bit on a sheet of paper before you dive in, just to
get a feel for how fast the paint will squeeze out.

You'll want to lay these out in a place where you can leave them for several hours (or
overnight) to dry.

Once completed, try not to stack them puffy paint to puffy paint, as it will take several
days for the paint to cure completely, and you don't want them sticking to each other.

So there you have it, alphabet and number tiles inexpensively created without having to
save milk caps for the rest of your life.


You can use these tiles with the printable alphabet, counting, and spelling cards available on my printables page, under "Busy Bags".

Busy Bags - Yay!

So, I've been sorting through the survey results and planning the next swaps. I'm thinking this is going to be pretty fun. I so appreciate those of you who participated in the last swap. Improvements will be made based on your responses to the survey.

After reviewing the results of the surveys, I will be hosting swaps for the following age groups:

Toddlers (ages 1-young 2s): very simple activities focusing on "in and out", "poking", "open and close", ec.

Preschool-Young K (Adv. 2s-Young Ks): activities focusing on shapes, colors, alphabet, numbers, and just plain fun

Kdg-2nd gr (those gaining reading skills): more advanced activities encouraging reading and math skills, but also lots of fun

Reading and Math Activities (kdg.-2nd gr.): games and activities centering around basic reading and math skills


I will be getting the details together for these soon. In the meantime, if you'd like to be contacted when the details are ironed out, just pop in your email address over here, if  you haven't yet.

I will shoot for groups of 30. If there are, say, 90 people interested in the toddler swap, there will then be three seperate swap groups. If any of you are interested in playing swap hostess, please shoot me an email.

Toddler/Preschool Busy Bag Swap

Swap Closed! It reached 87 people in a mere 1 1/2 hours. :) If this works out well, maybe we can do another, perhaps by age and level. I will notify the first thirty people soon.

Update: Someone pointed out that there's no way the $5.20 flat rate box will be big enough. Please include $14.95 when you mail your bags to cover the shipping costs of the large flat rate box. Should I be able to make it all fit in a medium box, I will return the extra.

I understand if this is too much. If you'd like to be removed from the list, please email me (link in sidebar) and I will remove you from the list.

As I've been looking at many activity ideas for my kidlets, I came across the wonderful idea of busy bags (or activity bags). A busy bag is a ziploc bag containing a simple, sometimes educational, activity for your child to do either with you or while you need to get other things done.

This bag idea can be found at Walking By the Way.

I found an incredible endless supply of ideas at My Delicious Ambiguity (scroll past sequencing cards). I got so excited about the possibilities that I decided to create a few, only mine never made it into bags, because I've put them together at the moment my kids did them.

As I've tried to put a bit more structure into my chidren's days, I've added an activity time to the morning. This has been wonderful for Ethan, my two year old michevious, mind of his own, mess maker. Starting his day off with structured creativity has decreased his mess making trouble during the rest of the day. These activity bags are perfect for that.

I got to thinking that it would be nice to have a bunch on hand to pull out when needed. It would take a lot of time and work to create a lot of different bags. So why not do a swap?

Wanna join me?

Here's how it would work:

1) You fill out the form below. Once 30 women have signed up or Friday afternoon hits (which ever comes first), the form will be taken down.

2) I email you Friday to let you know you made it into the swap.

3) You reply by noon on Monday with your top three choices or activity bags to create, because I know a lot of you are super creative). Or reply and let me know if you just want one assigned to you. Look around online for ideas if you need them.

4) I will make sure we have no repeats, then email you all back Monday night telling you which activity you will do.

5) Each of us would assemble 30 bags with one identical activity in each bag. (Ex. I would make 30 bags with lacing supplies. You would assemble 30 bags with pom pom sorting supplies.) You may find Oriental Trading to be a good resource for bulk supplies.

6) You should invest no more than about $1 per bag. We're not wanting to spend a fortune here.

7) Mail your bags to me by Wednesday, May 18th,using any shipping method you prefer. Please include $14.95 to cover the return shipping (the cost to ship one large flat rate box. If I am able to ship 30 bags for less, I will return the extra.)

8) I will sort through all the bags, divvy them up so everyone gets one of each, and mail the collection to you on Monday, May 23rd.

9) We then each have a collection of about 30 activity bags to pull out when needed!