A Sunday Diaper Bag Solution...

Throw in diapers, wipes, snacks. Ointment? There. To the toy basket. Dig dig dig. Throw in a few dinosaurs. Add a handful of cars. Dolly too. Not that talking toy, not the noisy rattle, not the car with the motor, not Power Rangers, no, no, no.

So, digging through gobs of toys to find fresh interesting ones and quiet ones for church every week was getting OLD. My objective, with a baby, 3 year old, and 5 year old is currently to keep the kids quiet. Later it will be to keep the kids listening. So, here's my little solution.

It's easier to keep things for church separated from the rest--separate crayons and paper that I don't have to get out and put away each week. Separate small toys and other things, so they don't see them and become bored with them by Sunday.

So, I bought a box of those great Ziploc Easy Zipper Bags, gallon size. You know, the ones with the handy zipper that I'm too cheap to buy for anything else, but for this they are the best! Worth the extra buck. :) I got myself a plastic bin to hold a bunch of them once I filled them up. Then the gathering began. I nabbed stuff the kids don't use a lot, but would be interesting and quiet for church. I threw them in various bags and began my collection. Each week I go to my bin, grab about 3 bags, toss them in the diaper bag and I'm good to go! The endless digging is over! I just have to refresh paper and rotate books/photos once in a while. Here is what my collection is like:

*Large fabric and vinyl squares with holes for lacing. Cool lacing strings and leather. (A random find from a random craft store.)
*Rainbow Drawing (special paper with rainbow colors underneath a black film. The black film is scratched off with a wooden "pencil". Comes with stencils.)
*Paper and crayons
*Small size coloring book, small blank pad, mini-colored pencils
*Magnet board and magnetic letters
*Stickers, paper, mini stickerbooks
*A couple paperback books
*Family photos with a magnifying glass
*Crayola Color Wonder pens and pad
*Lacing cards (I cut out art from The Friend, glued them on heavy paper, punched holes around the edges, and tied on shoelaces to "sew" with.)
*Wooden animal magnets to go with my magnet board
*Alphabet and counting flashcards
*Small plastic lacing shapes like these.
*Magnetic shapes with patterns (An activity put out by CB Publishing through Scholastic books--scholastic often has great quiet activities in their catalogs we got through pre-k.)

Some ideas from kage's post on traveling with kids would be great too--small plastic animals, colorforms, and if you're meeting in the gym cuz your chapel was lit on fire you could even go for the party playdoh pack. Also, consider old Friend magazines and stencils with pencils and paper. Crayola also has a cute mini-marker called Pip-Squeaks if you trust your kids with markers.

Collect as you go--gather lots to add variety each Sunday. Keep them in uniform size bags, and don't get them out during the week. The key--each bag has an entire activity--don't make yourself go to the pencil drawer or the crayon box, just get extra for each bag. Makes it simpler come Sunday!