Category: FREE Learning Activities

Red and green straw pieces with shoelace
How to Make an Awesome Christmas Busy Box for Kids!

How to Make an Awesome Christmas Busy Box for Kids!

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Winter is coming, and you’re looking for simple play ideas to keep your toddlers and preschoolers learning at home. Between cold weather, rainy days, and lots of holidays preparations that keep parents busy, having a few educational activities set aside for your little ones is a smart idea! Read on to learn how to make a Christmas busy box for your kids. How to Make a Christmas Busy Box for Kids

Note: This busy box can be repurposed for a variety of seasons and holidays. The only thing “Christmasy” about it are the colors I chose — but you could easily make a similar quiet time activities using other colors and symbols!

In case you haven’t heard about busy bags or boxes before, they are simple learning activities that are typically self-contained and set aside for travel, waiting rooms, or quiet time. This Christmas busy box is similar, pulling together a group of open-ended materials that can be used in a variety ways. Toddlers and preschoolers can mix and match their toys for hours of creative play!

Best of all, these materials all fit in one small box, so they can easily travel to a relative’s house or holiday party all season long.

(Reminder: Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links at no additional cost to you. You can see our full disclosure policy here.)

How to Make a Christmas Busy Box:

Making a busy bag or box doesn’t have to be complicated! Think of learning skills you want to target with your toddler or preschooler and gather related toys.   This Christmas busy box that I put together focuses on fine motor and counting skills. Put all your materials in a small shoe box!

Christmas Busy Box for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Click here to see a short video explaining how to use these materials in a variety of fun activities!

Recommended Materials for Your Christmas Busy Box:

You can use ANY learning toys you have around your house–these are just a few recommendations that are both quiet and easily transportable.

  • UNO cards (specifically the red and green number cards 0-9)
  • ice cube tray
  • red, green, and white pom poms
  • tweezers
  • red and green foam blocks (1 inch cubes)
  • “velcro sticks” (red and green craft sticks with velco dots on the ends)
  • red and green pegs
  • tree cookie cutter
  • green LEGOs
  • empty (clean) Parmesan cheese container
  • red and green straw pieces
  • shoelace

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Christmas Busy Box and Activity Ideas

5 FREE Pumpkin-Themed Invitations to Play

5 FREE Pumpkin-Themed Invitations to Play

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October has arrived, and so have the pumpkins. On Saturday, we took our girls to go apple-picking, and the farm was full of families heading to the pumpkin patch. Grocery stores and home improvement warehouses are setting up their displays, leaves are raining down from the trees, and little ones are counting down to Halloween. Today, I am excited to share five FUN, free, EASY pumpkin-themed kids activities for your family.

Scroll down for our freebie!

And if you are a homeschooling/tot-schooling family, be sure to click here for our list of FREE (and almost free) pumpkin activities for the month of October.

In case you missed the introduction to our invitation to play series (click here), let me give you a brief introduction to how we structure these fun, simple activities at our house.  

  • Maybe you are looking for some play-based learning ideas for your toddler or preschooler.
  • Or you are trying to help an older child with homework or get dinner on the table. 
  • It could be you are a WAHM searching for a quick activity that will engage your little one while you send an e-mail or film a FB live video. 

An invitation to play is an easy, open-ended activity that uses just a few materials found around the house. Keeping these learning activities set aside for special times keeps them interesting and intentionally engaging for when you need 10-15 minutes to get something else done! Best of all, these simple materials can be mixed and matched for countless other activities throughout the year.

This week, I have a freebie for you: a download with FIVE simple pumpkin-themed invitations to play, including a materials list!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the skills found in our pumpkin-themed kids activities:

  • Fine-motor and hand-strengthening
  • Object transferring
  • Object stringing
  • LOTS and LOTS of learning through open-ended play

See one of the activities here:

If you want even more, be sure to join our Facebook group for 10 days of pumpkin-themed kids activities!

Just fill out this quick form to let me know you want the freebie!

Melissa @ Rolling Prairie Readers

Don’t forget to share this freebie with your friends. Hit the Facebook button below or pin this image:

5 pumpkin activities | FREE download

Five FREE Pumpkin-Themed Kids Activities (Toddlers and Preschoolers) | tot school, preschool at home, learning at home, tactile activities, wahm kids
5 FREE Apple-Themed Invitations to Play

5 FREE Apple-Themed Invitations to Play

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Fall is my FAVORITE season! The weather is cooling down, the leaves on the trees are changing colors, and pumpkin-spice is about to take over the world for the next few months. I have been SO happy pinning fall-themed activities and dreaming about Halloween costumes for the girls.

But first, I want to share five FUN, free, EASY apple-themed kids activities.

Five FREE Apple-Themed Kids Activities (Toddlers and Preschoolers) | tot school, preschool at home, learning at home, tactile activities, wahm kids

Scroll down for our freebie!

More apple fun:

Grab our “Best Apple Books for Kids” list.
Learn more about apple-picking with your family.

 

In case you missed the introduction to our invitation to play series (click here), let me give you a brief introduction to how we structure these fun, simple activities at our house.  

  • Maybe you are a homeschooling family looking for some play-based learning ideas for your toddler or preschooler.
  • Or you are spending the lots of time inside with your children due weather.
  • It could be you are a WAHM searching for a quick activity that will engage your little one while you send an e-mail or film a FB live video. 

An invitation to play is an easy, open-ended activity that uses just a few materials found around the house. Keeping these learning activities set aside for special times keeps them interesting and intentionally engaging for when you need 10-15 minutes to get something else done! Best of all, these simple materials can be mixed and matched for countless other activities throughout the year.

This week, I have a freebie for you: a download with FIVE simple invitations to play, including a materials list!

picture of a toddler moving apples from one bowl to another with a spoon

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the skills found in our apple-themed kids activities:

  • Color sorting
  • Object transferring
  • Bead stringing
  • LOTS and LOTS of learning through open-ended play

Be sure to download the freebie for lots of modifications and extension ideas!

Just fill out this quick form to let me know you want the freebie!

Melissa @ Rolling Prairie Readers

Don’t forget to share this freebie with your friends. Hit the Facebook button below or pin this image:

two apple-themed activities for toddlers and preschoolers

Five FREE Apple-Themed Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers | tot school, preschool at home, learning at home, tactile activities, wahm kids