Tuesday, October 30, 2012

A Simple Shapes Busy Bag



In addition to finishing up my own 31 Day Series, I'm also linking up to Allyson's final day of her series, Busy Bags and Quiet Time Activities.


This is the first year that I've had a separate bin of learning activities for my younger children.  You see, until this year, they were all my younger children and we learned everything together.  But this year, we're tackling things like cursive writing and long division and astronomy so I figured it wouldn't hurt to have an arsenal of fun activities and diversions for my pre-school set.  I keep a plastic bin (in a pretty color that matches my dining room, of course)  on the top of my hutch and only bring it down when I want to share an activity with my 2- or 4-year-olds. 








A few months ago I printed  these FREE shape flash cards, but I was undecided on what to do with them.  One day when Maddie (8) was showing them to Alaine (2), she suggested I cut corresponding shapes out of cardboard and let Alaine match them up.  Great idea! 











Alaine (and Ben, too) love to say the shape names out loud while they're working.  I love that Ben (4) calls a heart a Valentine and that Alaine tries to pronounce octagon and oval in her baby voice.  I also love that this activity allows me a moment to check an older child's spelling list without distraction. 







3 comments:

  1. Eek! I'm so glad you are using them! That brought a HUGE smile to my face. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is great when an older child helps to create a simple activity for a younger child! Thanks so much for sharing. I linked up to Allyson and did her guest post for Oct 28. Stop by and say hi:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this activity! I also think it's great that Maddie was thinking of how to help her younger siblings, she seems like a great big sister!

    ReplyDelete