Toddler Busy Bag: Button Snake

This is another fun activity for toddlers that helps them to learn buttoning skills and can also be used to learn colors, sorting, and matching.

 

The materials needed are very simple:  different colors of felt, ribbon, a button, scissors and/or pinking shears, needle, and thread.

 

I started off by folding the felt in thirds and cutting each piece in thirds. Then, I cut each long piece into fourths.

 I cut some of them using the pinking shears for visual difference.

 

 Using ten different colors of felt, I had enough to make three button snakes (one for Gracie, one for a friend, and one for a Giveaway coming soon!).

I cut the ribbon into a length approximately a foot long.  At one end, I tucked down the edges to make a point and sewed the edges.  I then sewed a button onto that end.

 At the opposite end, I sewed a piece of felt.

Here is the finished button snake!  (Ignore the mess in the background.  I was working on several projects at one time!)

So far, Gracie has enjoyed looking at the button snake.  She hasn't really tried to take the felt pieces off or put them back on.  She likes to watch me do it.  She likes it when I take off a piece, say the color, and give it to her.  She makes little piles of them on the floor around her.

UPDATE:  Gracie tore the end felt piece off of the ribbon.  I am going to have to redesign it so that it is more toddler proof.

I tried to keep it as simple as possible.  I folded the felt in thirds around the ribbon.  Then I hand-stitched the bottom part of the felt (that's around the ribbon) together.  I added a button to the middle part of the felt piece.  It kinda reminds me of a snake rattler.  I used a button from one of my favorite dresses that I finally had to get rid of (I kept the buttons).

Gracie will be able to pull the felt pieces off of either end.  I think she thought she was supposed to pull that last one off since I was pulling the others off from the other end.