Busy Jilly, Part 1

Last year I almost joined a toddler busy bag swap, but we were about to leave on a trip to Virginia and I just didn't have the time.  So in the past few months I've been searching pinterest and making my own little activities for Jilly.  These are things I can pull out when I'm working on a project, taking a shower, making a phone call, etc.  They are all activities she can do on her own which is absolutely fantastic for my sanity.  Plus, they've all been very simple and inexpensive to assemble (in other words they make me feel like a super hero.)


1. Pipe Cleaners and Beads-  These beads were leftover from my teaching days.  I waited to let Jilly play with them until I knew she wouldn't put them in her mouth (so basically just in the past couple weeks.)  I love the serious concentrating face she makes when threading the beads on the pipe cleaners.  She also sometimes sorts them by color, or just spreads them around the room (not my favorite option.)

2. Animal Heads and Tails- I actually deserve no credit for this one.  My super fabulous friend Shauna made these for her Busy Bag Exchange and was willing to email the file to her lazy friend (me.)  All I had to do was print, cut, and laminate.  Despite how it looks in the picture Jilly is getting pretty good at matching the correct head and tail.  And animals are always a big hit around here.

3. Pom Poms- I bought a big bag of pom poms (I never buy anything from Michael's without a coupon) then washed out a used plastic container.  When I cut the holes in the lid I started out really small and gradually cut them bigger because I didn't want to make them too big and take the challenge away.  This is one of the very best activities at keeping her occupied for a while.

4. Alphabet Milk Caps.  Months and months ago I saw something on pinterest that used milk caps so I started washing and saving mine.  One day I realized I had saved all these caps but hadn't used them at all and could not remember (nor had pinned) the original idea.  So I let Jilly start playing with them, and what do you know, she loved them!  Eventually I decided to add something more and picked up some sparkly chipboard letters at Michaels.  The letters were sticky, but not nearly enough, so I mod podged them on.  Right now they're just fun to sort, stack, and throw, but I have visions of one day teaching Jilly to make words with these.