Magnetic Tile Busy Bags to Develop Fine Motor Skills

Busy bags are a great way to encourage play on-the-go. In this blog I'm sharing 3 creative ways to combine magnetic tiles and everyday materials for endless play.

We were kindly gifted the Connetix Tiles and Bumkins bag used in this blog. All images and opinions used in this post are our own. This post contains affiliate links.

I'm a huge fan of taking busy bags with us when we go out and about. It's not because I fear my kids getting bored, it's all about it being a great opportunity to enjoy some uninterrupted creative play time with them. When we are not at home, we are less distracted by screens, toys, chores and the other one hundred things to do on my list. Here are three of our favorite busy bags using our Connetix Tiles and some everyday materials.

Elastic Band Tile Wrap & Unwrap

I first saw the concept of getting toddlers to remove elastic bands from blocks over on @kidsplaytricks and knew it would work great with magnetic tiles too.

Simply gather matching color tiles and elastic bands and put them in a bag. We love using the Bumkins sandwich bags! The easier stage of this activity is to start with the elastic bands wrapped around the tiles.

Invite your toddler to work their little hands hard to remove the elastic bands from the tiles. My two year old thought this was really fun! Add the bands in horizontal and vertical directions to make it slightly harder.

Once all of the elastic bands are off, you can ask your toddler to try and put them back on. This really is quite challenging for little hands!

Not only is it an awesome way to get those tiny hand muscles working, but it also helps to develop problem solving and patience skills!

Paper Clip Shapes

Paper clips and magnetic tiles are such a fun combo! Kids always love getting their hands on materials normally just the grown ups use (obviously be sure to supervise though).

I really like how this set up lends itself to so many different concepts- colors, numbers and shapes! Simply ask your child to sort the paper clips onto the matching color magnetic tile.

The magic happens when you start to ask prompt questions. For example, you can count as you add the paper clips, or ask what shape the paper clips are being attached to.

Using paper clips is particularly good for fine motor skills because your child will need to manipulate them carefully to line up with the magnets in the tiles.

Once you're done sorting, why not just enjoy some open-ended play with the materials. Here you can see my 2 year old chugging her paper clip train!

Shape Monsters

You might feel a little hesitant about doing art with a toddler outside of the home but it's all about the materials you use. For this final busy bag we teamed up a variety of different shapes of Connetix Tiles with a white Wonder Stix. You could alternatively use a dry erase marker.

Encourage your child to manipulate the magnetic tiles into a monster figure. Discuss the different shapes of the tiles and how they can be used for body parts.

Then comes the real fun, adding the features! Use the Wonder Stix and add facial features, hair, clothes, jewelry etc. My little one loved drawing the nose and mouth!

Don't worry, the white markings wipe right off the tiles. In fact, my toddler enjoyed the cleaning of the tiles just as much as the activity itself, which is also great for working those hands hard!

I hope we have inspired you to include magnetic tiles in your busy bags! They are awesome for teaming up with small manipulatives in order to develop fine motor skills.