So Hot Stuff was going out tonight for dinner and a movie with friends, and the Tiny Men were CRUSHED that they didn't get to go along. I mean, you would have thought that I told them all the puppies in the world had died or something. So this mama had a brilliant idea - whip out my first attempt at a "busy bag" activity.
If you have not heard of a busy bag, basically it is an activity that can fit into a food storage bag or something similar and is generally something creative/stimulating to their little brains. There are tons and tons of ideas out there, just look at Pinterest! Yes, they can help develop fine motor skills or critical thinking, but let's be real about this - I just wanted them to be quietly concentrating on a project instead of crying for daddy!
The other day at Wal-Mart I picked up some pipe cleaners and kids crafting beads. I think it was probably $4 total. I have seen several ideas using these materials - cutting up pieces of pipe cleaner and putting them in an empty two liter bottle, then manipulating them from the outside with a magnet; sorting the beads into different color bowls; threading pipe cleaners through a colander. This time I decided to go with threading the beads onto a pipe cleaner. I knew this would work because the boys had done it at a friend's party and it was a hit. So as soon as the crying started, mommy whipped out the bowls of beads.
IT WAS AWESOME! Instant cry stopping! I need to make more of these activities STAT! Look at how much fun they were having:
This gave me at least 15 minutes of quiet Tiny Man concentration - Heaven!
No comments:
Post a Comment