Dollar Store Quiet Bag

 (Disclaimer: Bag itself and a few other items aren't from the dollar store, but they are dang cheap!)

Two weeks ago we had a rough day at church. The bag of books and toys we brought to entertain Marlene (things that only make their debut on Sundays) were not doing it for her. We have sacrament meeting the third hour so she was done sitting still, done looking at books, and that resulted in us leaving 30 minutes before church was over. 

So last week my mission was to make a new quiet bag, with things that can hold a toddler's attention. I scoured Pinterest, asked friends, and came up with some great (and also cheap) ideas. The total cost of putting this bag together was $15.

Magnets

We bought a pizza pan from the dollar store, bought some magnet paper and stickers from Michael's, and this held Marley's attention for a good 15 minutes at church. You could also raid your fridge for some magnets that aren't flat, Marley had some trouble at first being able to move them around.

Foam Numbers

This was a dollar store find, and a total score! They may have gotten a little chewed up at church, but the best part is that once they're ruined it will only cost $1 to replace. I would love to find some alphabet letters too.

Felt Board

I bought a white board from the dollar store, covered it with felt bought from Michael's (One yard cost $2 with a 40% coupon), and cut out shapes using my stash of felt scraps. Fun part about this is that felt is dirt cheap, and I can always change out the shapes. You can find these cute shapes (except for the bunny) HERE

Sponge Blocks

Bought 2 packs of sponges (multipacks, to get the most for my money) from the dollar store and cut them into shapes. These are great because they don't make noise!

Magna-Doodle

We found this at Wal-Mart in the Easter section and it cost $2. This little beauty kept Marley busy for about half of Sacrament meeting. She was so interested in it! Its a great way to introduce "coloring" without having to worry about her making a mess or chewing on crayons or pencils. Towards the end she had it pretty much figured out. 

Slinky

This is a great "my kid is freaking out and I need a distraction fast" toy. Marlene can get upset at the littlest things, (us not letting her crawl under the pew in front of us, or us not letting her grab the Sacrament tray as its passed by, etc) so this is a great idea. I found it at Wal-Mart for $1 in the party section.

Also, the best way to keep everything organized is like this:

Pencil cases from Wal-Mart! They cost $1.

Some other things we bought from the dollar store that we haven't tried out yet are: 

-Stickers and a legal notepad to put them on

-colored pencils (they won't get on her, her clothes, or the church pew) 

-Plastic Easter eggs 

Hopefully these things continue to keep Marlene entertained because church with little ones is hard! It was such a relief last week to have her content and happy to just sit there. Being prepared makes all the difference!