Keepin' Kiddos Busy!

As a mom of multiple kids, it seems like the moment you sit down after helping one of them the next one needs something. For me, it's usually my 9 year old. No matter how many toys, crafts, books or games are in this house it is always "I'm bored", "I have nothing to do". When I offer suggestions, it's always "I already did that" or "I don't want to do that".

This last year was exhausting on me, to say the least. I felt like I never got anything done! All the kids at home, the husband at home, school at home, work at home and for some reason I had to be everyone's entertainer.

I decided I would put together "busy packets" for each day of the week to keep my kids busy. Each one differed depending on age. Once everything has been completed on the pouch, then they can come ask for screen time, game time, etc. But these definitely keep them quite busy so I have time to start my workday, household tasks, etc.

I'm about to take you through the ones I put together for my 9 year old daughter. First stop........

These were in that awesome little section when you first walk into Target! I found dry erase pouches at my favorite place - - Bullseye's Target Dollar Spot! Each were only $1 and they had a variety of different colors. I decided to buy 5 of them for each day of the week - Monday, Tuesday, etc....I would give these kids Saturday and Sunday off. The pouches easily hold letter sized paper and seemed super durable.

Next I wanted to add a colorful background so the words and list popped out. I found this pack of 3 scrapbook sheets for $1 at the good ole' Dollar Tree. So I picked up a few of these and cut them down to size so they would completely fill in the pouches

Next, I drafted out a list of tasks for the day. I wanted this to be something my daughter would grab right after breakfast. So I thought of all the things she needed to do and should do. I kept mine pretty basic and school focused. I know she needed some extra practice in math so you'll see in my example, there are a few math items. We are also a house big on reading so you'll see some of that too. I decided I would put them in a list format with a line after each task so she could check it off when completed. I made all the decals with my Cricut and permanent vinyl. The decals are water resistant so you can spray with water or Windex to wipe clean. Here's how they turned out:

So how do these work for us? ABSOLUTELY GREAT! After family breakfast and a nice chat in the morning, she grabs her folder for the day and starts with cleaning her room. From there she has the option of what order to complete all the other tasks. These pouches are large enough for me to stuff with worksheets, crossword puzzles, a book, flashcards, etc. On Sunday night, I stuff them all with the work for the week and they are ready to go on Monday morning. We keeps these in a cute little basket in our kitchen area so they are easy to grab once they've washed up after eating. I also include a dry erase marker in the packet for her to check off all her tasks. When she's done, the daily pouch is brought back to me and then she has her free time. I correct or look at the work when I have a free moment that day and sometime, I'll put a worksheet in the next days folder for corrections, etc. But these have been a great resource over the summer and I think we'll continue them through the school year - just with some minor adjustments like adding in homework, etc.

I get most of the items I put in the pouches for free or for very little $$. I use Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers for freebie worksheets Teachers Pay Teachers also have such a large volume of great resources for pretty cheap ($1-3). I also checkout places like Goodwill and Savers. You'd be surprised what you can find in the book section.

If you don't have access to a Cricut or cutting machine and would like to purchase the decals, you can do so HERE on my Etsy shop.