Busy bags are a great way to keep little ones actively engaged on the go or at home. We’ve been getting them out a lot lately for my preschooler to do while the big kids are doing their homework and it’s been working out really well.
This ABC and fine motor busy bag is easy to put together and perfect for preschoolers who are learning their letters!
Grab your supplies and you’ll have this preschool busy bag prepped in just minutes.
Don’t worry about waiting until you find a yellow plate or an orange marker. Use whatever you have on hand. Kids don’t care about busy bags being Pinterest-photo worthy. The point of a busy bag is to let kids work independently while you get something else done.
When it comes to busy bags done is always better than perfect!
ABC Match Busy Bag
- yellow plate (you can paint a white one if that’s all you have)
- clothespins
- permanent marker
Write all of the lowercase letters around the plate with the marker.
Then write all the uppercase letters on the clothespins.
Your preschooler or kindergartener can match each uppercase letter to the correct lowercase letter to create a sun.
Letter Matching Busy Bag
This sunshine busy bag can easily be adapted to what your child when it comes to letters and the alphabet.
Kids who are just starting to play with letters may only need clothespins with the letters in their name at first. You can even add dot stickers next to the letters in their name to make it easier for them to find them on the plate.
Kids who have had some practice at identifying upper and lowercase letters can use a mix of clothespins with letters they recognize along with letters they are working on to make the busy bag engaging without being overwhelming.
Kids who can identify many uppercase and lowercase letters may enjoy the challenge of matching all of the letters at once. It really depends on the kid and the day. Feel free to mix it up to keep it fun!
No matter which letters you choose to set out for your child to play with one thing is guaranteed–fun fine motor practice!
Using clothespins lets kids get the chance to use and develop their fine motor skills. Little fingers needs lots of fine motor practice to strengthen and sharpen their skills. Pinching clothespins is not just fun, it also helps develop the hand dexterity and strength to be able to write, cut and more.
Don’t you just love a busy bag that does double duty while you finish your coffee!
More Preschool Busy Bag Ideas
But wait! There’s more! If you love playing and learning with busy bags as much as we do then you’ll LOVE our ebook!
The Busy Bag Book is jam-packed with busy bag activities kids can play with all by themselves while you do something else. You need this book!
Click here for more information —>> The Busy Bag Book
We also have this HUGE list of busy bags kids love!
It’s organized by topic and skill so you can quickly find the right busy bag for your child. You will want to pin this list to keep coming back to!
Click here to see them all –>> The Best Busy Bags for Learning and Fun
Love how bright this is!
Thanks Carolyn !
Fun!
Enjoy
Love this!
Nice Idea! I think I’ll make some of these over the weekend. Thanks!
Yay! Thanks Tina!
It would be fab just to do kid’s names – great Messy Church activity, thank you. Or you could write a memory verse or nursery rhyme round the edge!
Ooooh! Kate I LOVE the idea of a memory verse or rhyme!!!! I’m going to try it with my kiddos! Thanks!
Thank you so much for this, we have had a lovely time playing with the pegs!! My little girl struggles with her motor skills and she loved them so much it was the last thing she did last night and first thing this morning 🙂
So happy to hear that Rachel!!! YAY!
My 4-year-old is struggling a bit with identifying letters AND fine motor skills (which has been an ongoing issue) so this looks promising to work on both – so I’m going to try it. I might just start with the letters in her name around the circle and then add others as she “gets” it so she doesn’t get overwhelmed…
Yes, if she is still working on identifying letters starting with her name first is a great idea!
I love this idea! I think my 5 and 3 year olds would love doing this – especially the 3 year old. He loves clipping things!