Jennifer Farrington, vice president of education at the Chicago Children’s Museum, recommends filling an easily accessible container with a variety of craft items and projects that your kids can dig into anytime they’re looking for something to do. “The ideal activities box will have a blend of basic and more novel materials,” Farrington says, though she adds that parents can really put anything they like inside. All supplies, however, like the ones below, should be “simple, flexible and open-ended in nature,” Farrington notes. “Each one can be put to hundreds of uses — limited only by your imagination.”

Ideas for Your Activity Box

Empty jars
Paper-towel rolls
Popsicle sticks
Index cards
Duplicates of family photos
Paper cups
Straws
Buttons
Spools of thread
Marbles
Shells
Scissors
Glue
Tape
Paper
Cardboard
Markers
Latex gloves
Cotton balls
Bean seeds