Monday, November 13, 2017

Favorite diaper/entertainment bag items for toddlers and preschoolers.

Hello! Doing kid posts are one of my favorite things. I am so thankful to stay home with my girls, but I also loved being a preschool teacher in my former days.

I still carry a diaper bag because I have 8 month old twin girls, but I also have an older daughter who just turned three. So, I said "diaper bag" in the title because many people who have preschool aged children also have younger kids too, but I also said "entertainment bag" because Norah (my oldest) doesn't need a real diaper bag, so basically when we go on a car trip or to church she has her own little fun bag. I keep a few entertainment items in my real diaper bag for day to day outings (such as if we have to wait awhile at the doctors office, etc.), but she has her own little backpack for bigger/longer outings.

Here are some of my favorite diaper/entertainment bag items for toddlers and preschoolers!

1. Smaller play-doh jars- This is probably Norah's favorite- she loves play-doh. I like to keep one or two of these smaller jars in her bag (simply because they are easier to carry and store than the bigger ones). Play-doh entertains her during church for awhile each Sunday. She does a pretty good job with not making a huge mess of it (explaining expectations beforehand helps!), and I only let her play with one color at a time so they don't mix. I've heard some parents say they really don't like play-doh, but I don't mind it too much. I never bring any tools either; I just save those for at home.



These next items (2-5) fit perfectly into the clear plastic Crystal Lite containers. They are my favorite for storing smaller things. I take the wrappers off so you can see what's inside, and the lid snaps on tight.

2. Hot Wheels Cars



4. Jumbo Crayons (or regular crayons- but jumbo are nice for toddler hands)





6. Any sort of small notebook, paper pad, coloring book, etc. This Disney bulk set looks fun!

7. Stickers. Norah loves stickers. I always hunt the dollar sections for those big books that give you about 500 stickers for $1. (I've found, from my experience, that most cheap glittery stickers are much harder to peel off.)






10. Boogie Board- Norah got this as a birthday gift last year, and it's very cool and in my diaper bag almost constantly. It's just a coloring board, sort of like the previous Magna Doodle, but you just press the dot to erase. It's neat because it's amazingly thin, so it's perfect for storing. Norah uses it frequently (her favorite thing is to trace her hands on it). Also, if you lose the pen, you can write on it with any other sort of stylus (even your fingernail!). 


11. Dot to Dot for Tiny Tots Wipe Clean book- There are tons of fun books like this out there. We have a couple different ones, but this one is perfect for Norah's age (just turned three), because it's more tracing things, vs. some of our other ones focus more on letter writing/advanced things, which is great, but Norah isn't quite to that level yet. (It comes with a dry erase marker, but you could use any kind. I tried to bring a wash cloth with to clean it, but it doesn't wipe off that easy. I just use wipes to clean it and they work great and are super quick.)


12. Crayola Color Wonder Mess Free Coloring- Whoever created this is a genius. It's perfect for coloring on the go because the markers only work on the special paper, so you don't have to worry about it getting on their clothes, car seat, church pew, etc.



12. Melissa and Doug Water Wow! coloring books- These things are incredible. I love them because you can reuse them over and over again. You just fill the pen with water and color away! The water makes things show up, and then just dries so you can do it over and over. Norah loves these! She loves to color on her skin with it too (likes the sensory feel of it I think), because it's the only time she's allowed to because it's just water.


We do not have these items, but they look cool too:

Travel Aqua Doodle- Similar to the one before, but just coloring with a water pen, so you can keep reusing when it dries.


Lite Brite- This would be better for an older child, but I want to get Norah one someday (once Lucy and Ellory get old enough to not eat the small pieces!). A friend had one at church and Norah loved it.


Also, remember Polly Pockets? My mom still has some of our old ones saved, I'm pretty sure, and that would be a fun travel toy for an older preschool child too!


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