Now that my girls are all in school it gets really quiet here. Too quiet. I thought I would love having so much time alone to accomplish the long to-do list that has accumulated over the years. I don’t love it and I am not checking much off of that list.

I miss the years of having small children at home. At the same time, I am exhausted even thinking about that time. So many older mothers told me it would go by so fast. I knew that, but it was frustrating that they did not acknowledge how hard it was. The days are long, but the years are short. Acknowledge and remember both. If you forget how challenging that time could be, you risk losing compassion for those who are currently in that stage.

I remember how difficult it was to complete simple tasks because I was always interrupted. I was often looking for creative ways to keep them occupied for a few minutes so that I could get work done. One thing that was very helpful was making busy bags. I kept them put away and only got them out on “special occasions” so that they maintained a novelty factor.

Last year I came up with an Easter egg busy bag. I grabbed a bunch of paint chips, glue, kid scissors, ribbon scraps, mini poms poms, flower punches, etc.

Busy bag Easter egg preschool craft idea using paint chips and ribbon scraps

One of my best tips for crafting with kids is to use some sort of tray to contain the mess. It definitely cuts down on how much stuff gets spread out all over the house.

Use a tray with sides to contain messy kids' crafts!

I made a template and traced eggs onto the backs of the paint chips. Yes, I could have cut them all out for her, but I believe in developing manual dexterity in children. Trust me. Scissors skills come in very handy when kids go to school. It will make their future teachers’ lives easier if you break out the safety scissors early. Paper can be a little flimsy and harder to handle. Paint chips are just about the right thickness.