Five Fun Busy Boxes for Baby

I'm excited to be joining with Lemon Lime Adventures series The Ultimate Guide to Baby's First Year.

This series is not only a wealth of  information for you but we also have a very exciting giveaway which you can read abut here.

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Today's theme is Baby Activities and I've decided to share five fun busy boxes with you. When I talk about 'busy boxes' I'm simply talking about a simple discovery box which will keep babies (and toddlers!) busy for a couple of minutes.

Busy Boxes don't have to be complex or expensive, they can simply be made up of whatever you have on hand.

Here's five simple ideas to get you started:

Tupperware Busy Box
To make this box up I simply raided my plastics cupboard-I chose an array of containers with different closures-twisting lids, snap on lids and easy to remove lids. I then placed some containers inside bigger ones and in others I placed random jar and bottle top lids.

A very simple set up but it's a favourite with both Squiggles and  Bubbles and keeps them busy for at least 15minutes.

Teapot Busy Box
This busy box was inspired by Squiggles as she discovered my old teapot  a few weeks ago and has since been obsessed with taking the lid off and putting it back on again. Seeing as she's so taken with the teapot I decided to extend the way she plays with it by placing it in a box along with a silicone muffin tin and a dozen plastic balls

Squiggles had great fun trying to stuff the balls into the teapot and balancing them delicately in the muffin tin, it not only kept her occupied for half an hour the first time I gave it to her, it's still keeping her busy three weeks later.

Duplo Busy Box
Got Duplo (or building blocks)? Got jars? Then you have all you  need for this  activity!

All I did for this box was give Squiggles a couple of glass jars with a box of duplo, she had so much fun filling the jars up with duplo and then dumping them out on the ground again. She was also quite interested in putting the lid on and off of  the duplo box again.

Basket of Balls
Ok, so not technically a busy 'box' but this is one of my favourite busy activities. Simply grab a picnic basket with a lid and fill it with balls, oranges or anything else you have on hand!

This activity keeps both Squiggles and Bubbles busy for ages-Squiggles loves taking the balls out of one lid and then placing them back in through the other lid.

Cedar Ring Busy Box
Another basket but you could also pop these things in a box.

For this box I simply placed a large and small cardboard tube in a basket along with a jar full of cedar rings.

Squiggles had lots of fun placing the cedar rings into the big tube and then eventually decided to wear the tube as a very large bracelet.


I'd love it if you'd join with me now in hopping over to these great blogs and checking out these awesome baby activities:

30+ Baby Safe Sensory Play Ideas – B-Inspired Mama
Textured Sensory Play Mat – It’s a Long Story
Mirror Play for Babies – Still Playing School
Fun and Safe Sensory Bins for Babies – The Eyes of a Boy
Jewelry Sensory Box – Trust Me, I’m a Mom
Encouraging Sibling Play with One Awesome App – Lalymom
Baby Play: Newborn Exercise – True Aim Education
Combining Gross Motor & Art – Bambini Travel
20+ Motor Play Ideas for Baby – Pink Oatmeal
Tummy Time Entertainment – Hand Made Kids Art
Simple Activities for 6 – 12 Month Olds – Powerful Mothering
Tummy Time: Why & How? – The Inspired Treehouse
Baby Play: Rolling a Ball – Wildflower Ramblings
How to Encourage Baby to Crawl- The Realistic Mama
Natural Spring Treasure Basket for Baby – Natural Beach Living
Montessori-Inspired Mini Discovery Boxes for Babies – Living Montessori Now
5 Fun Busy Boxes for Baby – Squiggles & Bubbles
14 Treasure Bins for Baby – Wildflower Ramblings
5 Ideas for Playing Outdoors with a Baby – Barefeet on the Dashboard
9 Tips for Painting with Infants – The Stay-at-Home-Mom Survival Guide
Smart Art for Your Burgeoning Mini Monet – Conceiving Piper

If you'd love some more ideas for playing with your baby head over to Lemon Lime Adventure's Ultimate Guide to Baby Activities-with over 1000 activities there's sure to be something you and your baby will enjoy!

You may also like our Christmas busy boxes. Just click the picture to read all about it!

For more activities like this check out my new book Learn with Play. It’s a collaborative work, written by myself and 93 other amazing bloggers, mothers, teachers and early childhood educators. The e-book comes with links to over 300 activities!

Please always supervise your infant/child at play.  Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.  You know you're infant/child best, use your own judgement-considering your infant/child's temperament, habits, behaviour and development before you play with a new play medium.