Movin’ Mondays – Domino trains

(Photo of my toddler using the Instgram app…isn’t is cool?!?)

One of our favorite family game night games is Dominoes.  We have the Mexican Train domino version. The rules are for the players to start with seven dominoes in their hand with a double-number domino placed in the center.  Then each person places their matching number domino and you take turns matching up your dominoes which form a train. If you can’t match, then you draw one and put up a plastic train on your line so others can play.

But playing games with a preschooler and toddler doesn’t usually involve rule-following.  Our two year old adores the plastic miniature trains so he is usually focused on playing with those while our four year old likes to count the dots on the dominoes.  

It’s important to try to teach the basic concepts but we also allow for a lot of ‘interpretation’ of those rules as well…which often leads to other really fun versions of game play! 

What “Moving” activities do you have planned for the week?
(Feel free to comment below)

Twist-Ties busy bag

For this Busy Bag, you take a handful of twist-ties and a handful of objects and present it to the child then let them play.  We don’t use twist-ties in my house because our trashcans have either a bag with a built-in drawstring or they are recycled bags from the grocery store.  But I’m a saver and collect these each time we empty a bag of bread.

The interest of this activity comes because the primary object (the ties) are new and different for the preschooler. We’ve included a variety of items for the twist-ties to be twisted around – a pencil, an empty spool, tupperware, and so on. We also included a few pipe cleaners for more twisting fun.

So far, my two year old is not sure what to think of the activity.  Since we don’t use twist-ties, he is having a hard time wrapping the ties around and keeping them around anything.  He is more interested in stuffing all the objects into the green tub for the moment but he has asked to play with this again today and left all the parts out, as if he wanted to play with it again later.  So we’ll have to make an effort to develop his twist-tying skills to make this more interesting. 

I know my four year old can do this type of twisting motion so I’ll post again once he plays with the activity to let you know if it’s a winner or a dud of an activity for him.

 

For more photos, go to the Facebook page under “BusyBagCentral” and be sure to ‘Like’ us so you can get in on the fan-only giveaways. Orders can be taken on Facebook or by emailing (BusyBagCentral@gmail.com). Thanks for reading!

Match Me Cards busy bag

This preschooler activity is developed off of a similar activity suggested by the Parents As Teachers program.  The concept is to have the tot match like-items and use the colors and shapes as a tool for communication.  Our Parent Educator suggested the use of a file folder with pictures of the images taped to the inside of the folder. Then the toddler holds an object and attempts to match the shape by placing the item on-top of the image (i.e. place a round koosh-ball on-top of the flat circle shape on the folder).

This game was modified so that it all fit into a baggie...a file folder is just too big for most bags. I just love the fact that all these busy bags we've done so far are neatly contained in zippered baggies that can all be packed away into our Busy Bag Box (more on that - click here).  Each of our activities fit into their own quart-sized baggies except for one activity that requires a gallon-sized baggie -- the Alphabet Match Up Busy Bag (more on that - click here).

For activity bag creation of these Match Me Cards, we used several colored index cards as well as a variety of matching items.  Most items are relatively flat so the cards will stack well and be easy to handle for little fingers. Our activity includes 12 cards that have six 'boyish' cards using foam vehicle shapes and six cards that have a variety of jewels that are considered ‘girly’ per comments made by my 4-year-old son. Use of both items was intentional because I want my boys to be exposed to a lot of crafty items, even if they are girly. *wink*

Truly, this bag could be tailored to girls or boys and the 'match up' items can be anything from buttons to pasta or whatever is on-hand. Plus it can be tailored for any age by offering one item to match for 1 – 2 year olds or offering a pattern of items for 3 – 5 year olds.

There are a host of ways to play this game also.  You can simply ask the child to find the match.  If they have good motor control, you can also ask that they lay the matching piece so it mirrors the permanent item or even have them place the match on-top!

For more photos, go to the Facebook page under "BusyBagCentral" and be sure to "Like' us so you can get in on the fan-only giveaways!  Orders can be taken on Facebook or by emailing from the blog.

Pop The Popsicle busy bag

This neat busy bag has several ways to play perfect for different levels of preschoolers!  My kids just got a play-kitchen so they are into ‘eating’ with toys and this is a great addition to our assortment of food. Plus they LOVE eating real popsicles so this activity fosters a lot of communication between all of us.

This busy bag has 6 different colors of popsicles with coordinating popsicle sticks. Each stick has text on each side and on each end --- resulting in 4 different ways to play.  Depending upon your preschooler’s age and reading level, the adult is to present the popsicle tops to the child and then give the sticks and point out which end/words to use for the activity. 

Here are different ways to play using the sticks:
Version #1 – For the non-reader, use the end of the stick with the coordinating color dot and letter (first letter of the color and will help build letter recognition and use of sounding out the color name).

Version #2 – For the very early reader (and some non-readers who are good with colors), use the end with the color name written in corresponding color; i.e. ‘blue’ is written in blue.

Version #3 – For the basic reader, use the end with color names written in black.

Version #4 – For readers, use the end with popsicle flavor names written in black. We added a 'cheater' color swab on this end as well since our kiddos cannot read yet. 


If you end up ordering from us and would like to include your child's favorite colors or patterns, just let me know.  I have a huge variety of paper in my stock-pile so I can tailor this activity based upon user preferences.
We can also tailor the flavor-names written on the sticks.  The flavor list currently used is based off the original flavors of popsicles when they became a popular commodity (back in the 1950's)!

For more photos, go to the Facebook page under "BusyBagCentral" and be sure to "Like" us so you can get in on the fan-only giveaways! Orders can be taken on Facebook or by emailing from the blog.