Tag Archives: busy box

Activity Ideas for a Toddler Rainbow Busy Box

Today we were all about rainbows! My toddler “Rainbow” busy box includes a cut-and-paste craft, color sorts, rainbow books, and other fun items related to rainbows!
My main activity for my toddler was a simple cut-and-paste rainbow color sort craft using paint chip squares and images in all colors of the rainbow. This is such a simple activity, but my daughter loved that she had “made a rainbow” all by herself.

Cut-and-Paste Paint Chip Rainbow


To begin with, I had a pile of paint chip squares, so I used those to make an accordion book, held together simply with tape.
Then, I found some clipart of items of a variety of colors. You can have a search through a shop catalog or magazine for items of a variety of colors. 
My girl enjoyed cutting out the items and gluing them on the correct page. This was a perfect small motor skills practice activity. There was no pressure to cut “on the line.”
Picking up the paper and sorting it on to the correct square was also a perfect challenge for a young preschooler or older toddler. It takes good finger control in order to pinch paper. Glue is always fun.
The whole activity was just a great chance to try an activity by herself, from cutting to glue. And then she had a beautiful rainbow “accordion” book at the end of it!

Color Puff Ball Sort

Colored puff balls are such a fun soft manipulative for the little ones to play with. I love that, even if they are thrown, there is no harm done. Because they are so light, they don’t go far either.

For this activity, I cut down some toilet paper tubes to three different heights: from 1 into to full sized. then I wrapped each tube in construction paper and labeled them with number stickers. 
You could also use thicker colorful paper and do away with the toilet paper tubes all together!
Then, I include the correct number of puff balls in the busy box to allow for one to fit in the smallest, two in the next, 3 in the next, etc. the goal is for the correct number of puff balls to correlate to the color of the tube. 
The first time we played with this, my toddler did not understand. The next time it came out, she figured it out and enjoyed it!

More Ideas for a Rainbow-Themed Busy Box

Here are the other activities that fit in her rainbow busy box. The items below link to Amazon, for which I am an affiliate.

See more rainbow and color products in my store!
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Apple Busy Box Activities from Toddler to Kindergarten

From when my second child was a toddler till today, when she is a kindergartner and my third child is a toddler, I keep them busy by setting up busy boxes (also called busy bags or workboxes). With fall comes apple picking season for us.  The activities and books below are perfect for an apple themed busy box!
I teach a class at our co-op, and my son is present for one or two other classes as well. This means that my two daughters get to “hang out” a lot  each week, sometimes with a different adult to watch her.
Here are some great apple-themed activities for keeping your toddler or preschooler busy.
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“I Spy” Busy Box

Set up a busy box to search for letters or words, and make a rice bag I spy activity bag.
I have seen the rice “I spy” packages before on Pinterest, so since my son has become interested in word searches and daughter has become interested in the “I Spy” books we have, I thought it was time to make an “I Spy” busy box. Some of these activities work for the toddler, others are more appropriate for the older child, and some are games they can both play (albeit, a bit differently with a toddler involved). The look and find busy bag lets the kids search for familiar items in the midst of a few cups of rice. The entire I Spy busy box encourages visual discrimination, an important pre-reading skill. Continue reading →

Toddler Busy Box Organization (Workbox Wednesday)

201502toddler busybox organization
If there is one thing parents know about toddlers, it is that they have a short attention span. They are unpredictable, too, so if you are headed somewhere and you want to keep them busy, it is best to have a number of options for them to choose from.
Busy boxes for toddlers, then, need to have a variety of different options. If you are taking them with you, it also must be easily portable! Here are some of the things I do to keep organized when preparing a busy box for my toddler. Continue reading →

ABC Peg People Busy Bag

peg people2I love how I get great ideas from Pinterest and from great blogging moms who have fantastic ideas. Other moms have been there before and have great ideas and words of wisdom to share. Making letter people is one idea I found that I simply love! When I stumbled upon No Time for Flash Cards‘ post about Alphabet Peg Dolls, I knew ABC peg people were something my daughter would love to play with, especially as she begins to learn her letters. Continue reading →

ABCs Busy Box Ideas

Strawberry loves the LeapFrog videos that teach the letters. She is quite adept at recognizing letters (especially uppercase letters) as we go about our daily life, and often recalls the LeapFrog word most frequently associated with it. Thus, the “C” is “Cold” and the “H” is Hot. I decided to send a few letter activities in her busy box this week. She’ll loved the ABCs Busy Box! Here’s what I had for her.

abc workbox
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