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Clipboards and coloring pages – I chose half-size clipboards, to fit the scale of everything in the bags and to fit in the bags I picked. I found free Bible coloring pages online, which I was able to print at half size with two pictures per page. These are great, because you can download all 52 as one PDF. 

 

Half size notepads – These are great for drawing or taking notes, and they’re a nice, compact size.

 

Pencil cases - I packed these with mechanical pencils and a a 24-pack of crayons each.

 

Fruit and vegetable lacing cards – I would’ve rather gotten more traditional lacing cards, but I didn’t have a lot for really small kids, and I thought these larger, wooden ones would be good for them.

 

Marble mazes - If I’d had more time, I would’ve just made these little marble mazes myself. There are so many fun options, if you make your own!

 

Marble/mesh fidget toys – These are so simple, and my kids love them!

 

Fidget puzzle snake toy – These are great, because there are so many configurations to explore. The kids don’t get tired of them. 

 

Tangles fidget toy – These are similar to the fidget snake, but they’re loopy instead of geometric.

 

Stencils – The ones I picked are a little bendy, but they’ve held up, so far, and the kids enjoy them. If I were doing it again, I might try to find some made of more rigid plastic. 

 

Liquid motion bubbler toy – These are the most expensive thing in the bag, at $4 each, but they provide extremely quiet, still entertainment. 

 

Dolls – I ordered two families of dollhouse-size dolls, and put one or two dolls in each bag. You can find the dolls I ordered here and here, but there are dozens of variations to choose from! I like them because they are durable, a good size for small hands, and posable. They’re about 3”-5” tall. 

 

Bags – I had grand ideas of making the actual bags myself, and I still think that would be a fun project, but a very tight deadline forced me to find some really cute, small canvas bags on Amazon. I like the compact size, so the activities don’t get lost in the bottom of the bag, and little kids can carry the bags easily.

 

Bag stand – This is just a coat stand that comes in sections, so you can make it tall or short. I made mine short, and added casters to the bottom to make it slightly easier to move around. 

 

Maintenance has so far been pretty simple. We haven’t had any problems with the crayons, which is one of the things I was worried about. I’ll probably have to print out new coloring pages every six months or so.

 

The children who came to our meetings loved the bags and were excited to use them each night. And guests who have come to church since then have enjoyed them, too. We had one little girl who loved her bag so much she wanted to take it home with her! 

 

Obviously, there are plenty of ideas for fun quiet toys and activities out there, but maybe these will give you a starting point as you put quiet bags together for your church’s young ones. 

 

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