Rice Busy Bags {Craft Tutorial}
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My friend recently hosted a “Busy Bag Exchange” between preschool moms. What a great idea right? We each came up with five bags of the same activity to keep little ones of about the same age busy whether it be in the car, at an appointment or in a restaurant. I instantly thought of those tubes filled with rice and tiny treasures and wanted to recreate something similar.
MATERIALS
- Heavy-duty plastic bags
*Variation: You could also use a clear plastic bottle as long as you tape the top shut. This option might be more durable as well. I’ve also seen a variation with fabric on one side and a clear vinyl window sewn together. - Rice. The amount will depend on the size of your bag or bottle so you might want to measure before you buy.
- Duct tape. I found these fun patterns in the dollar spot at Target!
- Tiny treasures to hide inside
- Scissor
- Camera, paper, printer, laminator (or you can use clear packing tape to “laminate” your cards)
DIRECTIONS
1) Chose 10-15 tiny treasures to include in your bag. Be sure to lay them out on a white piece of paper and take a picture prior to putting them all in the bags. This will become the guide for what to find inside. Consider items of varying size and color. Find things that are both very bright and very similar to the color of the rice to add to the challenge. Be sure to avoid anything sharp that could poke a hole in the plastic. I found nearly all of these things around the house with a few things purchased at Micheal’s craft store. *NOTE: I made two variations of my bags. See the examples of the things I put in my bags in the photo above!
2) Place your tiny treasures into the bags. If you have little ones this is a great job for them to help with. “Can you find the turtle? Put him in the bag!” My daughter loved this part.
3) Fill the bag with rice. Be sure there’s enough room for kids to move it around to find the items. I found about 3/4 full worked well.
4) Seal the bag with duct tape. I trimmed the edges of mine with a scissor to be sure no sticky edges were showing.
5) Print the picture you took of the tiny treasures included in the bags. I put four up on a page so the little image guide was about the same size as the bag itself. Laminate the card or cover with packing tape to protect it.
* If you don’t have a printer at home you could print a standard 4×6 photo print.
Toss these in your purse or car to grab when your kids need some distraction. Consider additional games other than finding the items on the card. How many green items can you find? How many leaves can you find? Find something you can eat. Count the pieces of rice … just kidding. Although that might keep them busy!
What a cute idea and if it keeps them busy, I think it’s wonderful. I better share this with my girls so they can keep my grandchildren busy
What a cute idea. I’m curious on cost per bag for you? I may do these for my daughter’s preschool class (12).
It would really depend on the things that you used inside. The duct tape was from the dollar spot at Target. The rice was purchased in a huge bulk bag. Most of the little things inside were found around the house. The turtle, car, sunglasses were from Michaels in bulk bags. Most were beads or buttons. Some were from the scrapbooking section clearance corner. Get creative and you can keep the cost down with bulk items. My daughter is in preschool and she loved doing this. They can help pour the rice and it’s great sensory experience for them.
these are neat. Ive never seen anything like this before but they would be great for car rides! my daughter loves to stay busy so I will remember this idea
This is a great idea for in the car. My daughter gets so impatient and bored even for short car rides. I can see her getting really into finding all the treasures and forgetting where we are:)
fun idea. the clear plastic bottle is a nice variation and would hold up better than the bags.
Great idea, cheap and easy perfect for my preschool class!
Simple to put together and time consuming for the little ones. Where’s Waldo?
My sons behavioral specialist brought something similar to this over and my son loved it! Never seen anything like it before until then. but i love it!
Love this idea! I think I would do this with a plastic bottle because of the durability, I’d just be afraid it would be a little bit more difficult to find all the objects.
I love this ideal,an its something I can make too! with 13 grandchildren,having something on hand while driving or going somewhere is exactly what I need,,ill be watching for some small items to put in them that are cheap an fun
What a great idea! i just hope my kids dont decide to turn it over and make a mess in the car too! LOL
LOVE this idea for car trips, restaurants & waiting at dr. appts 🙂
look fun.but when i was a kid?..pick up rice was funny..lol
Thanks for posting this. I have purchased I Spy bags for my grandchildren in the past, but it honestly never occurred to me to make my own. DUH! Super easy & lots of fun.
What a great activity for children. Thank you for sharing this craft with us.
This would be awesome for traveling! Even if waiting in a doctors office, very inventive and kids get to learn. Love this idea!
Love this idea! Can’t wait to try it!