Take Home Backpacks or Bags for Preschool and Kindergarten
Take Home Backpacks and Bags for Preschool
Ideas for implementing a take-home bag program in your preschool, Pre-K, Head Start, or Kindergarten classroom. Ideas and free printables for creating math, science, and literacy take-home bags.
What are Buddy Bags?
Buddy Bags are designed to be fun and informative ways for families to share literacy and learning experiences at home. A Book Buddy is a stuffed animal or character that goes home in a special backpack with one student along with books and activities.
One Buddy Bag is sent home with the “leader” each day. The bags are distributed on a rotating basis so each child will have a turn numerous times throughout the school year. Families will read the book(s), participate in the activities, and write in the journal. The Buddy Bag is to be returned to school the next day.
These bags are perfect for creating a home-school connection. But before you implement Buddy Bags you need to have all of your classroom procedures and routines down pat, because without them you won’t have time to implement extras like this. The Visual Routines bundle has everything you need to keep your classroom running smoothly – from day one!
How do you keep track of the Buddy Bags?
The Buddy Bags go home with the leader of the day in each class. Since I have both AM and PM classes there are 2 bags checked out each night, one from each class.
Where do you get the clear backpacks?
The clear backpacks are from Lakeshore. I have been using the clear backpacks for a number of years and they hold up very well; they are “kid size”, inexpensive, and clean up easily.
Let’s be honest, teaching is all about hard work, long hours, and low pay. Take Home Bags are great, but your classroom environment is much more important. To set you, and your kids, up for success first you’ll need to have center signs, a picture schedule, labels for everything – and so much more! I’ve done all the hard work for you with my Back-to-School bundle.
What items do you include in the Buddy Bags?
I have listed the contents of each bag for you below.
How do you explain everything to the parents?
I start by having parents sign a contract to participate in the Buddy Bag program. Inside each bag there is a note that is printed on cardstock and laminated that explains what is in the bag and how to use it. See the resources section at the bottom of this page to print the note.
Do you have a plan in place for teaching your students the alphabet? What about their names? These skills are critical for success in school. The best way to introduce young children to the letters of the alphabet is to teach them how to spell their names. The resources in my Name Bundle will make learning names fun for your students!
Where do you get the stuffed animals or characters for the buddy bags?
All of the items in the bags are things that I have collected from various stores over the years. Whenever I see something I think would be good for a backpack I grab it!
Bag #1 Chicka Chicka
Contents
- Chicka Chicka book
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Magnetic letters
- Chicka Chicka recorded on iPod
Bag #2 Three Little Kittens
Contents:
- Kitten Beanies
- Three Little Kittens book
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Three Little Kittens recorded on iPod
Bag #3 Gingerbread Man
Contents:
- Stuffed Gingerbread Man
- The Gingerbread Man book
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Gingerbread Man story sequencing activity
- The Gingerbread Man recorded on iPod
Bag #4 Hey Diddle Diddle
Contents:
- Stuffed Hey Diddle “plush pal” Doll
- Hey Diddle Diddle book
- Hey Diddle Diddle puzzle
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Hey Diddle Diddle recorded on iPod
Bag #5 Humpty Dumpty
Contents:
- Stuffed Humpty Dumpty Doll
- Humpty Dumpty book
- Humpty Dumpty puzzle
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Humpty Dumpty recorded on iPod
Bag #6 Jack and Jill
Contents:
- Stuffed Jack and Jill Dolls
- Jack and Jill book
- Jack and Jill puzzle
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Jack and Jill recorded on iPod
Bag #7 Little Miss Muffet
Contents:
- Little Miss Muffet “plush pal” doll
- LMM book
- LMM puzzle
- LMM recorded on iPod
- Instruction sheet
- Parent Journal
Bag # 8 Brown Bear
Contents:
- Stuffed brown bear
- Brown Bear book
- Parent Journal
- Class made book “Pre-K, Pre-K, What Do You See?”
- Instruction Sheet
- Brown Bear recorded on iPod
Bag #9 Happy Birthday
Contents:
- Stuffed Birthday Bear
- Happy Birthday Moon book
- Happy birthday recorded on iPod
- Instruction sheet
- Birthday Journal
Bag #10 Clifford
Contents:
- Stuffed Clifford
- Clifford book
- Clifford’s Journal
- Clifford’s bowl, leash, and blanket
- Instruction Sheet
- Clifford story recorded on iPod
Bag #11 Fire Fighter
Contents:
- Stuffed firefighter dog
- Firefighter/safety books
- Parent Journal
- Fire safety tips sheet
- Instruction Sheet
- Fire truck cards w/numbers 1-10 for putting in order.
- Fire safety stories and songs recorded on iPod
Bag #12 Goodnight Moon
Contents:
- Stuffed Goodnight Moon Bunny
- Goodnight Moon & Kiss Goodnight books
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Goodnight Moon recorded on iPod w/lullabies
Bag #13 Wonderful World
Contents:
- Stuffed multicultural dolls
- What a Wonderful World & What is Your Language? books
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- What a Wonderful World story and song recorded on iPod
Bag #14 I Love to Read
Contents:
- Stuffed reading bunny
- I Can Read! & Curious George Goes to the Library books
- Parent Journal
- Environmental Print sheet
- Environmental Print memory game
- Instruction Sheet
- I Can Read! story recorded on iPod
Bag # 15 Butterfly
Contents:
- Butterfly Beanie
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Caterpillar life cycle books
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar story recorded on iPod
Bag #16 No David!
Contents:
- David Doll
- Special No David! backpack
- No David! and David Gets in Trouble books
- The Adventures of David notebook
- Instruction Sheet
- No David! story recorded on iPod
Bag # 17 Plants & Seeds
Contents:
- 2 Plant/Seed books
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- 3 part seed sequencing activity
- Plant/Seed stories recorded on iPod
Bag #18 Seasons
Contents:
- 2 seasons books
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Seasons sorting game (Lakeshore)
- Seasons stories and songs recorded on iPod
Bag #19 Weather
Contents:
- 3 weather books
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Magnetic weather game
- Weather cassette tape & tape player
Bag #20 Transportation
Contents:
- 2 Transportation books
- Parent Journal
- Instruction Sheet
- Transportation counters
- Transportation sorting, graphing, and patterning mats
- Transportation stories and songs recorded on iPod
- Transportation pictures
Bag #21 Farm
Contents:
- Big Red Barn book
- Parent Journal
- Plush cow (sings Old MacDonald song)
- Chicken Beanie
- Instruction Sheet
- Farm Puzzle
- Magnetic farm playset
- Farm stories and songs recorded on iPod
Hi,
Do you sell the instruction sheets for all your book bags?
Thank you
Marci Threadgill
I don’t, but it’s a good idea, I’ll keep it in mind 🙂
Could you please share where you got the No David backpack.
It was from the Scholastic Bonus Point catalog several years ago.
I love all you ideas they are very helpful to my new teachers.
I would like more information on recording books on ipods. Where do you get the recording? Do you record yourself reading them?
Yes, I recorded myself reading the books in a free program called Audacity which turns the recording into an mp3. Unfortunately, I don’t think they make ipods any longer.
Hi! Do you sell the instruction sheets for your buddy bags? If not, can you share an example of what one looks like so I can attempt to mimic the instruction sheet for bags I will create? Love all your information and ideas. Soaking as much as I can up! Class begins tomorrow. 🙂
I have 3 volumes of my take-home book instructions, you can learn more about them here: https://www.pre-kpages.com/?s=take+home+books I also include a little blurb about when to return the books (tomorrow, next week etc. – whatever you prefer) and to keep the books away from pets and food.
Is there a way you can send me a picture of the bag for the farm theme?
Hi, Angela.
These bag contents are suggestions for how you can fill your own Buddy Bags. You can get creative!
Thanks!