Dara came up with brown bags as a Simple Play Wednesday idea. A brown bag – or two or three or four – can bring all sorts of creative play into your day.
I can think of craft ideas needing a pile of supplies, but we’ll leave those up to the experts. Have you ever visited the No Time for Flashcards website? She’s got AMAZING ideas, including making a cowboy vest out of a big paper bag.
Take the kids to a park or out in your yard and give them a small pile of paper lunch bags. I wonder what they’ll do?
- Our guest blogger, Alii, had two ideas involving paper bags in her “Five Fun Things at the Park” post: 1) Pick up trash and 2) Take the bags into the kitchen to pack a picnic lunch – except let your child help this time.
- A childhood favorite of mine – add just a few crayons they can make a simple puppet show. Or bring glue and make a nature puppet (pebbles for eyes, a leaf for the nose, etc.)
- Bags are perfect for treasure collections or sorting – big rocks in one bag, small rocks in another, fallen leaves and flowers in another?
- What about letting your child find a gift from nature for mom? Have them hide it in the bag to surprise you.
- Draw pictures of 5 things to discover on the outside of the bag and send them out on a scavenger hunt.
I’m sure your kids can come up with much more creative ideas than these – but your imaginations should be working now.
Have fun, play often!
Carter
Wednesday 2nd of June 2010
I agree. The most fun to be had is making puppets! Incorporate pipe cleaners and yarn to make fun hair. And googly eyes are cheap and fun!
Marghanita Hughes
Wednesday 2nd of June 2010
Over the years we have had endless amounts of fun with paper bags. Like you, a favorite is making them into puppets. This year for Easter, I rolled down the sides of the paper bags, crushing them slightly and shaping them into nests to hold a collection of small chocolate eggs.