Busy Boxes (Part 1)

The past few months many people have asked us how our transition from a family of three to a family of four has been. Of course the real answer is that we're still transitioning. In fact, I think we'll always be in a state of readjusting as both boys enter new stages and other family changes occur. It's just one of the many balancing acts of parenthood, how to stay consistent while also remaining flexible.

But, beyond that there are several things we did both ahead of and during the midst of the transition that have made some parts easier. One of these things was creating "busy boxes." During my pregnancy I noticed the term busy boxes on Pinterest and blogs. Busy boxes (also sometimes called "busy bags") are small boxes of activities, materials, projects, and kits which are meant to engage kids independently (and usually quietly.) They can be made from a variety of materials and individualized to fit a child's interests and developmental level.

I decided to create some for Big Brother to use when Little Brother arrived. I envisioned we would use them during nursing times. But I have found they are great for lots of different times: when we're inside for quiet nap times, when Little Brother needs my focused attention for bathing or going down for a rest, while I'm making dinner, sick days, and rainy days. Due to my maternity leave and the arrival of Little Brother in general we're spending more time home than we used to, so these can help break up the day. I keep them in a closet Big Brother does not use so he doesn't have steady access to them like other toys. They go back to the closet when the time period we need them for is over and we don't use them every day. Therefore they stay special.

Below are photographs of some I created for Big Brother and for a young relative who was also expecting a new sibling. Some great places for finding materials include the dollar store, craft stores, your junk drawer, and yard sales. When you're creating, think about your own kiddo. What tends to hold their interest? (Art, trucks, science, etc.) Developmentally what are they doing? (For example, if they still put a lot of things in their mouths than several of the ones below would not be recommended.) Is there a new skill or subject area they're interested in? (Bugs, counting, etc.) I find they work really well in small, plastic boxes with latch lids.

I'm calling this "Part 1" because I have several other ideas of busy boxes I'd like to create and as these lose their novelty I plan to introduce the new ideas.

 Busy Box Ideas

Beading Box: Large wooden beads and pipe cleaners. (Can also be used for color matching.)

Number Box: Large flat marbles, index cards with circles 1-6, and number counting cards for matching, counting, or other kid directed ideas. 

Funny fingers: Small ink pads, paper, and finger tips from office supply store (with raised dots for gripping.) 

Pattern box: Two sets within one box. Set A) Laminated pattern cards with small colored dots. More stickers or pompoms for recreating patterns. Set B) Laminated pattern strips with small foam blocks for recreating patterns.

Dino World: Floral rocks, small dinosaurs, and fake flowers. (Could also use fake insects or small zoo animals.) 

Construction Site: Floral rocks and construction vehicles. (Actually the same box as the dinosaurs, I just swapped in vehicles instead.)

Magnet Box: Magnet wand with magnet balls, cut pipe cleaners, paperclips, and random magnetic and non-magnetic materials. (Big Brother's favorite these days.) 

Sticker and Punches: Small punches, glue stick, scrap card stock and project papers, and stickers. (Big Brother loves to create bookmarks for the adults.)

Flower Fairy Garden: Aquarium rocks, small terra cotta pots, small buckets, foam stickers, and fake flowers. Fairies created from clothespins, felt, ribbon, and fake flowers.

Creating a Big Brother Present

We tried the classic big sibling kissing Mama's belly,
but in the end this one was much more us. 

This winter we spent a lot of time preparing Big Brother for the arrival of Little Brother. We took him to the midwife and ultrasound visits, read books, talked about how Little Brother compared to the other babies at daycare, and tried to involve Big Brother as much as possible in some of the planning.

Something For the Nursery

One of the things we did to include Big Brother in the process was we had him create a piece of art which would hang in Little Brother's room. We told him that it would be something nice for Little Brother to look at and make him feel welcome. Although he was incredibly excited for the arrival of his little brother, our big guy was feeling a little sad to see some of the changes happening in the house. This included the emptying of our guest room where beloved family and friends usually stayed in order to create a nursery. He liked the idea of being able to help out and have a voice in that room. 

We had decided to have elephant details in the baby's room, so I looked up elephant clip art on the internet. When I found one image I liked I printed it out in two different sizes and traced it onto white contact paper. Using a small utility knife I cut the pieces out to essentially make two large stickers. I also free hand drew a small heart and cut that out.

I had an old canvas which I had painted on in college which I repainted with white gesso. After it dried I stuck my handmade "stickers" onto the canvas. (Kind of hard to see in the picture below.)

Now came time for Big Brother to be involved. Using craft acrylic paints he painted over the contact paper stickers and filled the whole canvas with color. He loved mixing the colors, and created some really nice shades as he worked. At the very end, we painted his hand and printed it on the opposite side, as a way of "signing" the work. (Side note: We keep a few clothes on hand which we wear when painting with more permanent materials like acrylic. That way no one has to worry if it gets on us.)

When the paint dried I peeled off the stickers and we were left with two white elephants (a big brother and a little brother elephant) in a field of blues, greens, and yellows.

Over the last month and a half many people visited to meet our new baby and several wanted to see the baby's room. Big Brother likes to show the room with pride and point out his contribution to his brother's space.