Busy Bags

Last week was the week of the busy bags.  My friend Jess and I organized a busy bag swap and it was a great success!  Busy bags are activities designed to fit into a Ziploc bag that will keep little hands and minds busy when mommy needs to do something else.  There are soooo many great ideas floating around on the internet.

Since I decided to participate in both the toddler swap and the preschool swap and I decided to make an extra preschool set for my neighbor, I chose three different activities.  I had to make about 13 of each activity to swap.  Of course I picked some of the most time consuming bags that are out there - felt snowflake building, dry erase I-spy game and a button snake.

My whole week was spent in cutting and then laminating and cutting again.  I was up to my elbows in felt.   I did a rough count - over 700 tiny pieces of felt were meticulously cut and over 2,000 paper squares!  It's times like those that I stop and think - what am I DOING with my life?!?!

So needless to say, we did not do any official schooling last week.....again.  Blech.  BUT Nora did get some math in since she helped me to count out all 99 I-spy cards 13 times in a row.  She is now an expert counter. And I did get to watch the entire 12 part video series that R.C. Sproul Jr. did on "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God"...twice!  That helped a great deal in my quest for answers to the things I posted last week.  So, there were some bright spots in all that effort.  And now I have 25 different activities for the girls and a set to give to my neighbor.

My toddler loot (thank for the pictures, Terri!)

The preschool bags

This is one way they amuse themselves when I am neglecting them in order to craft

A visit with Mommom and Poppop

We spent Wednesday at Katie's magical house.  Claire reads a book to S'more the Cat.

On Friday we went to the Bucks County Children's Museum with our neighbors

The Castle Fort.  Notice Claire trying to climb the walls...

Nora at the thrift store.  We found a doll that she liked.  She's "nursing" it here.  Very discreet.

The kids liked the fort so much at the museum so I made one for the bunk bed with some velcro and an old sheet.