Thank you for purchasing a Busy Bag

or

Congratulations on your Busy Bag gift!

Someone REALLY loves and cares about your little one!

Here are our tips to help you and your little one get the most from it:

1) Understand The Goal Of Busy Bags

The goal is to get kids hands and eyes off of phones or tablets. It is to get their hands playing, their eyes noticing the exciting world around them, their brains growing, learning, and imagining, their ears listening, and their mouths moving. 

Hear me -There is no judgement or guilt here-

My kids would likely be using in hand-held devices frequently if I did not become a Speech-Language Pathologist and was not exposed to the research-findings about kids and screens. However, I did and I was. That's what brings us to this moment! We are looking forward, not backward at the times you handed off your phone or a tablet to get two seconds of peace. Eyes ahead, my friend!

2) Give It An Exciting Name

I call them "brain-boosting busy bags" or "busy bags" for short, because that's the best way I can describe them to adults. That name falls flat for kids. Here is where you spice it up! What would excite your llittle one?

Mine like "Surprise Bag". Who doesn't love a surprise?

Here are some other ideas:

-Goodie bag

-Fun bag (cue my 5th grade boy sense of humor here LOL!)

-Surprise satchel

-Play purse

-Explorer kit

-Adventure Activity Pack

-Treasure time bag

-Discovery bag

-Adventure-on-the-go bag

-Smart kid kit

-Happy hands play kit (Lookin' at you Napoleon!)

-Wonder bag

-Magic play pack

Get creative here!

3) Talk It Up Beforehand, But Keep It Hidden Until It's Time To Play

The first iteration of these were going to be in bags that you could not see what was inside to increase anticipation and surprise for your little one. However, who want to pay money for something when they don't really know what they are getting? Not me.

With that said, know that much of the magic of the bag is the SURPRISE it holds for your little one! Littles love surprises, exploring, and wonder. Keep it out of sight until you are seated at the restaurant, get settled in at the party, or are seated at church. However, talk about it beforehand! Let them know you have a special surprise for them when you go out to eat tonight.

*AI generated picture. Busy Bag will look different and include more items than in the picture.

*Children must be supervised while playing with the contents of the busy bag. Keep the actual bag and items inside away from little ones under 3 years old. Consider if playdough is a suitable activity for your child based on their play style and the surface they are playing on.

 

 

 

Language Games

 

Language Game 1 — I Spy Sounds

How to Play:
Just like classic I Spy, but with sounds! Name the sound you hear at the beginning of an object around you.
Example: “I spy something that starts with ssss…” (child looks for sock, sun, Santa, soccer ball, etc.)
Or: “I spy something that starts with kuh… kuh…” (child looks for cookie, coat, candy cane).

Need to make it easier? Add clues:
“It starts with ssss, it’s black and white, and you kick it” → soccer ball.

Skills Built: Sound awareness, pre-reading skills, vocabulary

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Language Game 2 — Mystery Word

How to Play:
Tell your child they are the “detective.” Slowly sound out a word, and let them guess what the mystery word is.

Easy: Break the word into syllables.

• “ca–t” → cat

• “ba–na–na” → banana

Hard: Break the word into individual sounds.

• “c–a–t”

• “b–uh–n–ah–n–uh” → banana

Make it easier: Say it faster (closer to the real word).
Make it harder: Say it slower (more stretched out).

Skills Built: Sound awareness, pre-reading skills

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Language Game 3 — Count the Sounds

How to Play:
Take turns choosing a word (names work great!). Your child breaks it apart and counts the number of syllables—or the number of sounds for an extra challenge.

Easy (Syllables):
You say: “Cassie.”
Child: “Ca–ssie… 2!”
You say: “Sophia.”
Child: “So-phi-a… 3!”

Hard (Individual Sounds):
“Cassie” → C-A-SS-IE… 4!
“Sophia” → S-O-PH-I-A… 5!

If they miss it:
“That was so close! Let’s do it together.”

Skills Built: Sound awareness, pre-reading skills

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Language Game 4 — Repeat After Me

How to Play:
Say a word or phrase and have your child repeat it. Start with simple words, then build to full sentences, and eventually two sentences in a row. Then switch and let your child lead—you repeat what they say!

Ideas for what to say:

• Items on a restaurant menu

• Sentences from a nearby book

• Lines from a favorite kid-friendly song

Skills Built: Memory, attention, grammar, listening, sentence-building

 

Language Game 5: Category Quick-Draw

How to Play:
Pick a category (animals, foods, things that go, colors, etc.). Give your child 10–20 seconds to name as many items from that category as they can. Then switch roles!
To make it easier, choose simple categories like “animals.” To make it harder, pick more specific ones like “animals that live in water.”

Works On: Vocabulary, critical thinking, categorization, flexible thinking.

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Language Game 6: Opposite Hunt

How to Play:
Say a word and have your child tell you the opposite.
Easy examples: big/small, hot/cold, fast/slow.
Harder examples: open/closed, whisper/shout, empty/full.
To extend the game, challenge them to use both words in a sentence (“The door is open. Now it’s closed!”).

Works On: Vocabulary, concept development, early logic skills.

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Language Game 7: Silly Story Switch

How to Play:
Start a made-up story with one sentence (“Once upon a time, a tiny dragon lived under our table…”). Let your child add the next sentence. Keep taking turns, building a silly story together.
To make it harder, require each sentence to start with a specific word (“Then…” or “Suddenly…”).

Works On: Narrative skills, imagination, sentence building, sequencing.

 

Keep it light. If your little doesn't want to play a game, that's okay! (I'm not always in the mood for a game either.) The most important thing is to connect with your little one and HAVE FUN! (That includes you too! You deserve fun, because you are doing an amazing job, mama!)