Introducing My Busy Bag by Little Scottie

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Providing more play activities for my three-year-old

It's widely acknowledged that play has positive effects on early childhood learning and development. Research shows that play contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children as well as providing ideal opportunities for parents to engage with their children.

This full report offers a very in-depth read: The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. You can click on the link to read the report.

I'm facing some challenges when it comes to providing sufficient quality play activities for my toddler.

First, I'm heavily pregnant and exhausted most of the time, so it's kinda difficult to prepare different kinds of activities for him.

Second, in this multi-screen era that we are currently living in, to be realistic, giving in to smartphones and TV is a somewhat useful solution. However, finding a balance in digital parenting versus traditional play can be tricky.

Third, we are a household of two working parents without grandparents or stay-in helper or extended family members who can watch over our child. So, after working the whole day, we can be quite tired and sometimes the last thing we want to do is to play with him. Sigh.

However, we still try our very best to give him hands-on play activities besides screen time. You can browse through the album below to see the activities:

The album below is about the Play Subscription (Trial Package) by Ele Boo which I have blogged about.

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8 DIY busy bag ideas for two-year-olds (no sewing needed!)

I have compiled eight DIY busy bag ideas for my 28.5-month toddler last month during the long Christmas week holidays. The plus point is: they don't need any sewing skill at all! Yay!

Those pretty and colorful busy bag and/or quiet book ideas that I found online require substantial sewing skills, lots of creativity, and patience. I can only sew buttons. Sobs. And I'm still trying my best to be a creative mom. Lol.

After about a month of searching for ideas online and a few trips to Daiso and MR. D.I.Y. to buy materials, these eight humble ideas are conceived. :)

The rustic storage bag to keep his busy bags.

Tips: Buy lots of ziplock bag, they will come in handy. I buy my materials from Daiso and MR. D.I.Y.

Don't get discouraged if you can't seem to replicate those super creative ideas you found online. Adapt as necessary to suit your level of creativity. Practice makes perfect. I have so much more to learn.

#1: Jigsaw Puzzle

Materials: Jigsaw puzzle suitable for your kiddo's age

Let him take his time to put the puzzle pieces in place. Give him some help (if needed) along the way and praise him when he manages to get the puzzle done.

#2: Match the Alphabets

Materials: Colorful popsicle sticks, mini wooden pegs (for little hands), colorful alphabet stickers

Stick alphabet sticker in a way that each popsicle stick has a corresponding wooden peg with the same alphabet. Let him pair them up. Or perhaps, un-stick everything. Lol.

#3: Stuff the Pom-Poms

Materials: Colorful mini pom-poms, a plastic ball with holes

This is a simple yet engaging idea in many levels. You can ask him to sort the pom-poms by colors before stuffing them into the ball. Or you can ask him to tell you what to do with the pom-poms. Just make sure he doesn't try to eat them.

#4: DIY Surprise Eggs

Materials: Assorted mini colorful toys, assorted empty containers that can be used to replicate surprise eggs

Create one or two surprise eggs samples for him to see. Then, let him use his creativity to pick and choose the toys he wants for each container.

#5: Thread the Shapes

Materials: Colorful pipe cleaners, shapes from construction tool kit for kids

This is an easy activity and good for motor skills.

#6: Thread the Straws

Materials: Colorful pipe cleaners, drinking straws (cut into 1-inch sticks)

This is an easy activity and good for motor skills.

#7: Velcro Chain

Materials: Colorful velcro strips

Make the strips into loops and chain them together!

#8: Wooden Puzzles

Materials: Wooden puzzle

This is a fuss-free activity for my toddler who loves everything vehicles. So far, this idea is his favorite and he could fit in the puzzle pieces correctly on his first try.

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