rab I’ve heard that good things happen in threes and that is definitely true of this three-part busy bag series. Boy Mama Teacher Mama and I teamed up several weeks ago to give away six printable kindergarten busy bags: 3 that work on literacy skills and 3 that focus on math.
So far, we have shared Addition Airplane, Pizza To Go, Submarine Subtraction and The Color Wheel. Today, we are excited to pass on our final two. If you’re loving these busy bags, check out our best-selling Editable Sight Word Games in our shop!
If you are new to busy bags, you are in for a treat. By spending a little time prepping these activities, you will save time and sanity later when you are running out the door and need to grab something that will easily entertain your child.
Click on the “Read More” tab posted after each picture to find assembly instructions.
Spin A Sight Word
Supplies
- Sight Word Spinner printable (HERE)
- Scissors
- 1 brad
- 1 paperclip
- 1 short writing tool. Snap a pencil in half, pick up a short pencil from Ikea, or use a golf tee.
- 1 plastic lid. 8 ounce tubs work best
- Lamination sheet to protect the spinner. I bought a pack for $10 at Target
- 1 large Ziploc bag
Getting Ready
Use your scissors to cut around the edge of the Sight Word Spinner and then laminate it. The spinner includes 12 of the most common words your child will see in books, magazines, letters, etc. They are called “sight words” or “high frequency words.”
Unbend the paperclip so that it makes an S-shape like the one pictured below. Attach the paperclip to the spinner by pressing a brad into the center of the circle. In the photo, my brad is blue. Your spinner is now complete.
To make a reusable writing tool for your child, clean the lid of an empty plastic container. 8 ounce lids work best because they are small but any size will do.
Use your thumb to press a ball of clay or play dough flat into the lid.
Note: You could use a Magnadoodle Board if you don’t have any clay/play dough in the house but clay is really best. When your child does this later, he will improve his muscle memory for writing sight words by feeling the tug of his pencil against the clay and he will strengthen his thumb muscles by smudging the clay to erase a word before writing the next one.
Place all of the supplies in a large Ziploc bag. You only need to keep the lid of your container and may throw the bottom in your recycling bin.
Spin a Sight Word
Your child will spin the spinner and write the word the word that is chosen in the clay. In this example, the spinner landed on the word “and” so I wrote the word “and” in the clay.
After writing each word, your child will use his thumb to smudge the clay so that he can write the next word that he spins.
House on the Hill
Supplies
- Houses on the Hill printable (HERE)
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- 1 large Ziploc bag
Getting Ready
Cut out the houses from the printable.
Glue the background pages side-by-side and place the supplies in a Ziploc bag and you’re finished.
House on a Hill
- Arrange the houses in a pattern and “read” the pattern with your child.
- Repeat above a few times to see if your child understands what a pattern is and how it works.
- Create the beginning of a pattern using the colored houses and have your child complete the pattern.
- Try a variety of patterns from simple to more complex.
- Have your child create a pattern for you to complete.
Get More!
If you like this, hop on over to our shop and grab some Editable Sight Word Games for more fun!
love the sight wheel. i will be pinning this for when Goblin is older.
I’m a big fan of pinning too!
Love your busy bags, Malia and BMTM! Thanks!
Yay!! Thank you, Shelisa!
Hi Malia,
I do not see where to print the sight word wheel for the busy bag. it says in the column to the right. We love your we sight and ALL your activities!!
Thank you so much
Bridget
Hi Bridget! Thanks for letting me know about the missing sight word wheel link. I just updated the post. Here’s the direct link to the PDF:
https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Sight-Word-Spinner.pdf
Enjoy!
I love the spin the sight word game. Thanks for sharing!
Your free activities are improving literacy all over the world. Thank you!
Quick question: Is it easy to put a brad through laminated sheets? Is there a trick?
Thank you so much Grace!
As far as putting a brad through laminated sheets, there’s not really a trick. If I know I’m going to do this, I make sure to poke a small hole in the paper before laminating it. That makes it a little easier to poke a hole through the lamination as well. Hope that helps!
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador