Making bean bags and games to go with them

Bean bags are so much fun for kids and so easy to make! They can be made out of any scrap material and stuffed with lentils, rice, and beans. These are 5 in squares that are sewn wrong side material up and around 3 1/2 sides and then turned inside out and stuffed then I went around the whole top again from front to keep it in



Games for bean bags:
Shape toss all you need is beanbags and construction paper cut into various colors and shapes
What to do: lay shapes on the floor in a grid pattern. Have your child hold the beanbags and ask her to toss it into the red shape. Or ask her to toss the bag into the triangle. These games will help make associations between different colors and shapes.

Head to toe: Use the beanbags to help the child identify different body parts. Ask your child to put the beanbag on his or her head. Have him find various body parts and balance the beanbag on them (elbow, hand, and so on.) Variation: try balancing two or more beanbags at a time!

Toss course: you will need beanbags and containers (bowls, baskets, etc.) Start by setting up a course - either with or without the help of the kids. Use containers - waste paper baskets, buckets, empty shoe boxes etc - to be targets or “golf holes”.
Now the children take turns tossing their beanbag around the course and into the targets.
Variation: see who can complete the course the fastest, left-handed, etc...

1,2,3!: Have your child throw the beanbag in the air, clap his hands once, and catch it. Now he can try clapping his hands twice, then three times, and so on. How high can he go? Variation: instead of clapping, try jumping or spinning around


Princess races: you will need beanbags, clear space to race and 2 or more participants
Have each princess balance the beanbag on her head and race from the start to the finish. If the beanbag slips off, she must run back to the start, re-balance the bag and start over.
Variation: try the race wearing high heels and a boa or other princess dress-ups.

Over and Under: you will need beanbags, medium-sized container, chair
Have your child stand back and hold the beanbags. Arrange the container on top of a chair. Have them choose whether they throw the bag ‘in’, ‘out’, ‘under’, ‘over’, ‘behind’ or ‘in front of’ the char and container. See if they can toss the beanbag to the place they’ve chosen.

Another tossing game: you will need beanbags, masking tape
Make a grid of 4 squares on the floor with tape. Have your child stand in the middle of the grid and throw the beanbag into the square that is “top’, ‘bottom’, ‘right’, ‘left’, ‘forward’, ‘backward’, ‘front’, ‘back’, etc. Variation: for pre-schoolers, write numbers or letters on a piece of paper in each grid square and have your child throw the beanbag into the ‘B’ or ‘3’ square.