busy bags part 2

so the busy bags were a hit--for at least a good...10 mins lol!!

actually, although i thought M would appreciate the paint chip matching thing more, B has really been enjoying it.  both enjoyed the popsicle sticks with velcro but neither for very long.  i think they just liked the idea of it more than liking the actual activity.

here are two others i tried:

i took an old greeting card (sort of amusing that it was a christmas card used for quiet time at temple but i used what i had!), glued it to a bunch of popsicle sticks, and then took an exacto knife to cut it apart.

then the girls put them together to finish the puzzle:

M enjoyed this, but was able to finish the puzzle in about 20 seconds.  B found it more entertaining to take the individual popsicle sticks and hand them out to other people in our row (which were thankfully family members and good friends)!

this one i thought would be a huge hit:

foam sheets cut in half--on one half, i made a design by sticking on different foam stickers.  then i put the other half, together with duplicates of all the stickers i used on the first half, in a ziploc--the idea being that they make the design on their half following my pattern.

my girls LOVE sticking these foam stickers on foam sheets!  they can do this for a good, long while.

so i was right that it was a hit--but again, M was too quick for me!!  she had these done in no time.  B had a harder time with it so although i made what i thought were easier ones for her, they probably should have been even more simple.

in the end, despite my best efforts, the flower-bordered paper my girlfriend brought for her daughter was paired with some crayons and had the longest staying power.  and yes, that is hard for me to admit ;)

i'm still proud of my efforts and i feel that one day my children might look back and think i worked hard at my job to keep them happy, quiet, and entertained ;)

busy bags?? yes, please!

i'm more "pinterested" than ever these days--especially now that i found the "explore" button--what a wealth of time-sucking ideas!!!

the "busy bag" is my new favorite--even though i haven't even shared them with my kids yet!  i just know (ok, hope) that they'll be into these ziploc baggies filled with fun little activities--and such perfect timing because we're in the throes of spending lots of time needing to be quietly entertained in temple!

there are so many out there in pinterest, but here are two of my favorites (mostly because they were easy enough for me to do while watching the emmy's!):

a color-matching activity:

how great is this??!  paint chips from lowes plus clothespins topped with a bit of color--remove the clothespins and match them up again!  i can see the girls loving this :)

and this gem:

popsicle sticks (which i actually had thanks to an overzealous craft run at some point last year) and sticky back velcro dots stuck to each end/both sides of the popsicle sticks.  the girls can make letters, or shapes, or whatever they want--over and over again!  i can definitely see them loving this, as they are constantly making shapes and letters whenever they have pretzel sticks for lunch!

i'll try to remember to let you know how they like these busy bags, but in the meantime i wanted to share them either way because i think they're a great idea!

school days...

M is starting kindergarten tomorrow, and i swear i tear up every time i think about it!  it is tough work sending your first child off to "real" school!!

so i figured i'd distract myself and make a new blog post--two birds with one stone :)  i haven't made too many fun lunches this summer--the girls were in camp for several weeks, and then it seems like we were on the go a lot.  but i couldn't let her start her school in career with just a regular sandwich ;)

i hope this helps her remember how much i love her and how proud of her i am :)

good luck to all the kids starting school this week--and especially to all the mommies and daddies out there too!!