i have been on maternity leave for the last 14 weeks and it has been a m a z i n g …. but my time is almost up 😦 when i go back, i’m going to have to do drop off and pick up a majority of the time. afternoons are hectic and i need time to unpack/repack the girls items — unpack dirty lunch boxes and bottles, repack with more snacks and bottles for the next day.
to buy myself some uninterrupted time, i created daily busy boxes for claire to play with while i get this stuff done! these are fun because they’re different every day and something new for claire to try.
i got these plastic bins from the dollar store, but you could literally use any bin! to make them fun, i cut out letters from glitter felt, but you could use a label maker, craft paper, or just not even label them if that’s how you roll!
1. scissor bin
claire is just starting to learn how to use scissors. this first bin has construction paper that i drew lines and squiggles on to cut using some melissa and doug scissors from my mom! they only work on paper which is awesome.
2. letter match up!
this was such an easy activity to set up. i used a toilet paper roll and wrote the alphabet on it, with corresponding stickers. it was kind of overwhelming for claire (turning 3 in april) so i think next time i would focus on the letters she knows (s, m, t, a, r, d) and add in maybe one letter she isn’t as familiar with.
3. dinosaur ice rescue
this was so fun for claire! it did take a little pre-planning though. i frozen a plastic dinosaur in an ice tray and gave her a little dish of water and salt to “paint” the ice cube to rescue the dinosaur.
4. cereal sort
this activity was perfect for claire. most days she comes home saying she is hungry, even though she just had her snack right before i picked her up! i set out a bowl of fruit loops and drew some shapes on a piece of cardstock. she had to match the colors with the shapes and had fun naming the shapes too! but let’s be real – the most fun part was eating it 😉
5. bead work
this last activity involved stringing beads on pipe cleaners! claire came home from school kind of overwhelmed with emotions and decided she would rather choose a different activity. we will definitely be trying this again though, because claire loves to make little things like this!
these are activities that took maybe 10 minutes to set up. my goal is to set up the bins on sundays so they are prepped for the week. is this something you would try???
girl gang + co 