boredom-buster bags!

What three words have I heard the most this summer? I'd like to say they were "I LOVE YOU", but alas, that fond expression was out-done by another set of words more common in my children's vocabularies.

MOM, I'M BORED!

After surfing the web, I gathered several ideas for premade activities my kids could whip out for a good fifteen minutes of entertainment. These "Boredom Bags" have been a lifesaver...and best of all, I feel like my kids are using their BRAINS as they sort, create with shapes, threading large noodles onto pipe cleaners, and read through flashcards!

Wyatt's favorite boredom bag is the felt shapes. I made two "mats" out of large rectangular pieces. Each mat has a different color on each side, black/green and white/brown. To help the large rectangles be more stiff and solid (easier to pick up when they want to show Mom their final creation) I used thin plastic cutting boards that I got at Wal-Mart, 3 for $2.

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Both kids love the flashcards and they are great to take in the car! Wyatt is more fond of the alphabet ones on the left and Halle likes the more complicated set on the right--it has things like "What do these three things have in common?", etc. I bought a pack of 4 flashcards at Wally's for just a couple bucks. BARGAIN!

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I bought a wide-range of assorted buttons (some even look like glass slippers and lady bugs and cars), "jewels", and sparkly fuzzy balls. Then I labelled two ice trays--one identifies colors and the other identifies an item's properties, such as "sparkles" or "soft" or "hard" or "round". It's been neat to watch them sort these little things into many different ways.

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(And yes, I know it is unacceptable, incredibly rude, and completely goes against "blog-etiquette" for me to not remember what websites or blogs I got these ideas from. I'd like to give you credit--there are 2-3 sites that inspired these boredom bags--so if you posted any of these crafty schmafty things on your blog or website first, I probably got it from you. Feel free to leave a comment taking credit...you deserve it!) I do know one of them at least...Marie at http://www.makeandtakes.com/about. She doesn't read my blog, but if she did, I'd say THANKS, MARIE for all her ingenious, and best of all: simple, ideas!