Activity Bag Swap

Carrie and I have been busy this week coordinating our first Activity Bag Swap. She found these great books of instructions for filling gallon-size ziploc bags with activities for preschoolers (Activities in a Bag). The books give detailed directions not only for making the activity bags, but for coordinating your own "swap." Basically, we've got 15 ladies who are each going to make 15 versions of 1 bag. At the end of the month, we'll meet up at my house and swap bags, each going home with 15 different bags. These activities are great, and Carrie and I have each made up some for our own kids already. As the school year starts up, you may want/need something for your preschooler to do, especially if an older sibling is off at school for the first time or you are trying to homeschool that older sibling. (Or, in my case, you are trying to entertain two other toddlers at the same time.)

It's worth taking some time to think through how to keep your toddlers and preschoolers constructively occupied. I'm witness daily to the dangers of idle hands...paired with busy bodies and creative brains! My goal this fall is to train my young'un's and to keep them occupied (even if that's with a quiet independent activity)--it helps keep temptation to sin at bay. For a young child, the major commandment they must learn is #5: Obey your mother and father. It's so hard for them to follow through on that commandment if they're bored, unsupervised, etc. My husband and I were talking this through last night: essentially, how can we help our children obey us (and therefore the Lord)? What sorts of things can we put in place to facilitate that? What sorts of commands should we be giving (and expecting obedience in return for) and what sorts of battles are better left unfought at their current ages? I think toddlers and preschoolers can definitely learn to obey their parents (indeed, must learn that), but I'm also trying hard to figure out how I, as a parent, can best show them how to obey me and equip them to do so. One of the cautions given us as parents is found in Paul's epistles: Fathers, do not exasperate your children. Surely that means that we need to evaluate our commands and exercise self control as we interact with our young children (my mother, sister, and husband can all bear witness to my lack of self control this very week...sigh...).

That being said, I hope having a store of constructive acitivities in bags my oldest toddler can pull out to work on will help her stay occupied constructively when I must be dealing with her younger brothers or cooking dinner or even brushing my teeth!

I should give credit where credit is due and thank my sister for discovering these activity bags!!! Thank you, Carrie!!!