Cute Colorful Pompom Sorting: Inexpensive Busy Bag DIY

Life has been pretty on-the-go lately. Unfortunately, with 3 busy boys, that also means a lot of waiting, car seats, and boredom for them. I’ve always been careful to keep books and snacks packed no matter where we’re headed to, but lately my kiddos need more. Putting together easy and inexpensive DIY busy bags has been a great solution and boredom buster. Read more to see the newest bag I put together this past weekend for #thelittleone. It’s fun for kids, inexpensive to create, and great for young learners.

Busy bags are a MUST in my family, to keep the kids busy while we wait at restaurants, offices, or even at home. I just put together a cute + colorful pompom sorting busy bag for the boys, very inexpensively. Check out how much my middle kiddo loved it, and see what you need to put your own together. #preschoolathome #homepreschool #earlylearning #busybags #busybag #prekindergarten #handsonlearning #finemotorskills
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POMPOM SORTING INEXPENSIVE BUSY BAG IDEA

As far as my kids are concerned, there are never enough pompoms! Lucky for me, pompoms are plentiful, and reasonably priced. They make the perfect manipulative for this cute, colorful inexpensive busy bag!

TODDLER INEXPENSIVE BUSY BAG

Supplies You’ll Need For Pompom Sorting Bag:

  • Pompoms in an assortment of colors.
    • I chose red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and white.
  • Weekly pill organizers.
    • These come in varying styles. I chose 2 so my son would work on opening + closing containers in a few ways. (Better for his fine motor skills!)
  • Scissors.
  • Construction paper in each color. (Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white.)
  • Transparent tape.
  • A bag to hold your busy bag pieces.
    • I generally use pencil pouches that slide into binders. We keep a binder full of inexpensive busy bag options in the car, so we can grab a few at an appointment or restaurant. The bags make it simple to keep everything organized. Using the binder means it’s easy to change up the available bags every few weeks, so my boys don’t get bored.
  • Optional: tweezers, tongs, or other kid-friendly ‘transfer tools’.

RAINBOW BUSY BAG SUPPLIES

How To Assemble + Use Your Inexpensive Busy Bag:

  1. First, assemble all the necessary materials.
  2. Second, use the scissors to cut a small rectangle from each sheet of paper, approximately the size of a flip-top lid.
  3. Third, use a small loop of transparent tape to attach a paper rectangle to the underside of each flip-top lid.
    1. Each lid should have 1 color.
      COLOR BUSY BAG
  4. Present one or both sets of pill organizers and pompoms to your child.
    1. Start small, with one set if your child is still mastering colors. Add the second later for extra challenge.
      PILL ORGANIZER BUSY BAG
    2. Encourage your child to open and close each pill organizer independently. The screw-top kind is much trickier, and will give a different fine motor work than the flip-top does. They’re both great ways to practice.
      SCREW TOP PILL ORGANIZER
    3. Once your child is adept at color matching and the skill of transferring each pompom by hand, introduce sensory and fine motor transfer tools for an new challenge.
      1. Tweezers, tongs, spoons, scoops, etc, are all great for pre-writing and pre-cutting hand strengthening.
        RAINBOW PILL ORGANIZER
        PRESCHOOL FINE MOTOR SKILL
  5. #thelittleone loves anything that’s a challenge, race, or competition, so even after he has color identification and the mechanics of opening and closing the organizers well established, he likes to challenge Dad to speed races, or tries to ‘beat the clock’. He’s happy to play with this inexpensive busy bag over and over, and it’s fun to find him discover new ways to play and learn.
    FLIP TOP PILL ORGANIZER TODDLER BUSY BAG
    RAINBOW POMPOM BUSY BAG

This Busy Bag Was Inspired By:

  1. The cute + sweet rainbow treat I put together for my boy’s on St. Patrick’s Day!
  2. Teach Me Mommy‘s tasty jelly beans busy bag idea!

LOOKING FOR OTHER SIMPLE OR INEXPENSIVE BUSY BAG IDEAS?

Look no further- I’ve got a great collection of ideas already started on Pinterest!

What sort of busy bags or books do your kids like the best? Let me know in the comments below!

Busy bags are a MUST in my family, to keep the kids busy while we wait at restaurants, offices, or even at home. I just put together a cute + colorful pompom sorting busy bag for the boys, very inexpensively. Check out how much my middle kiddo loved it, and see what you need to put your own together. #preschoolathome #homepreschool #earlylearning #busybags #busybag #prekindergarten #handsonlearning #finemotorskills

 

24 Comments

  • Jessica Bryn

    This idea is genius!! I’m always looking out for things to do at home with my kids. We’re really big on water play right now since it’s summer, but I love finding fine motor ideas too.

    • Kate

      Thanks Jessica! We try to get outside to play too, of course, but sometimes with the baby, we are stuck inside while he naps. 🙂

  • Sara

    This is such a fun and creative idea. Kids definitely needs things like this to keep them occupied when your in a pinch. Thanks for sharing!

    • Kate

      Thanks very much for checking out the post Sara!

  • Cynthia

    This is such a great idea 🙂 Thank you for sharing!

    • Kate

      Thank you Cynthia!

  • Katherine Wolfe

    Very cute ideas! I wish I had spent more time doing stuff like this when my son was young. Good for you, Mama!

    • Kate

      Thanks so much Katie! I didn’t have the chance to do it as much when my oldest was little, so I’m making up for it a bit with my younger two now!

  • Mallie

    Such a simple but fun activity for kids! love it.

    • Kate

      Thanks very much for checking it out Mallie!

  • Msddah

    I love this. Can your son make me one as well! It will be perfect for travel!

    • Kate

      Hahaha, I’m sure he’d be happy to!

  • armywifewithdaughters

    This is such a great idea and awesome that everything is available at the Dollar Store!

    • Kate

      Thanks!

  • Lauri

    Cute projects for little ones!

    • Kate

      You know how important is to keep the little monsters busy!

  • Lorena | www.lorenaylennox.com

    Such a great idea!!!! Great way to learn colors!

    • Kate

      Thanks so much Lorena!

  • Tracy

    This is such a great idea. And it’s cheap enough to make two so my toddlers don’t fight over it!! Love little activities to keep them busy. Thanks for sharing!

    • Kate

      Thank you so much Tracy- I hope your little ones love it too!

  • Jennifer Maune

    Busy bags are always so much fun – I definitely want to try out this one! Sorting always keeps the kids occupied – and it’s so much fun watching them feel accomplished when they do it for the first time!

    -Jennifer

    • Kate

      You’re absolutely right- seeing how proud they feel after a new task is such a rewarding experience!

  • Alexis

    This looks like such a fun activity!

    • Kate

      Thanks! My son really enjoys it.