How to Make and Use a Pizza Busy Bag

Busy bags have become hugely popular among parents and teachers of young children in recent years. "What are busy bags," you may be wondering? Busy bags are activities that can be slipped into a Ziploc bag and stored in a purse, diaper bag, glove compartment, or math center. They keep children busy while quietly engaging them in learning.

Parents love to give busy bags to their children while they are waiting for their food in a restaurant or sitting in the waiting room at a doctor's office. Teachers use busy bags in math centers to reinforce skills taught in class. In this blog post, you will learn how to make a simple, pizza busy bag out of felt. Enjoy!

This is an updated version of a blog post I wrote in 2014.  Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

 

Let's Make a Pizza!

To make a busy bag pizza, you will need to cut the following shapes out of felt:

• cheese- 10 yellow strips
• pepperoni- 10 brown circles
• onions- 10 white half circles
• mushrooms- 10 half circles
• peppers- 10 half circles 

Of course, you can make more or fewer shapes. You can also make different shapes. Do you like anchovies on your pizza? Go ahead and cut out 10 little fishes. Do you like pineapple on your pizza? Get creative and create your own pineapple shapes. It's all good fun!

Sample Pizzas

I'd like a pizza with five slices of pepperoni and eight pieces of cheese, please. 

I'd like a large pizza with everything on it, please.

I'd like my pizza to go, please. 

This pizza came with pepperoni, onions, cheese, peppers, and mushrooms... all made from felt.  What other toppings would you add to your pizza and what crafting materials would you use?  Share your ideas in the comments below!

 

(Next Article: Splat the Cat by Rob Scotten)