Saturday, September 12, 2015

Fine Motor Mix & Match Animals Busy Bag

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We have loved busy bags at our house for years now, but I think this mix and match animals busy bag may be the cutest one that I've ever made. My boys have created many animal hybrids with this busy bag and the animals have sparked hours of creativity and imaginative play. But what I love, is that these mix and match animals are a great way to work on fine motor skills.

Mix & Match foam animals: fine motor busy bag idea for kids from And Next Comes L

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To make these mix and match foam animals, I used:


To make these animals, I cut out a body for the animal using the craft foam. I then added details like eyes, nose, stripes, etc. with permanent markers. For each animal, I made four clothespin legs and one clothespin tail. I made three different animals: pig, giraffe, and zebra. You could easily make any creature you wanted, not necessarily just animals. Think dinosaurs for example. Here's the complete set:

Mix & Match foam animals: fine motor busy bag idea for kids from And Next Comes L

When the animal's legs are clipped on, it can stand up on its own.

Fine motor mix & match animals busy bag idea for kids from And Next Comes L

And you can even clip different legs onto different animals. How about that zebra pig? Or the zebra with giraffe legs and a pig tail? Cute, right?

Fine motor mix & match animals busy bag idea for kids from And Next Comes L

Meanwhile, the kids are getting important fine motor practice in.

Fine motor mix & match animals busy bag idea for kids from And Next Comes L

Fine motor mix & match animals busy bag idea for kids from And Next Comes L

Other cool ways to play and learn with clothespins:


Mix & Match foam animals: fine motor busy bag idea for kids from And Next Comes L