Bean Bags

This is a good activity for any age child so long as the bags are securely sewn and the beans won't fall out. You can do colors for toddlers and practice counting the bean bags. For preschoolers you can make or purchase alphabet bean bags and practice letters.

Supplies
-4.5 inch squares of fabric in various colors (2 of each color)
-Basic Sewing supplies (machine, thread, etc.)
-small beans or lentils
-or purchase bean bags

Prepping
-Sew 3 sides of the 4.5 inch squares together to make a pocket
-Fill with beans (don't fill too much, your fingers should barely be able to touch if you pinch the middle of the full bag)
-Sew open end closed

Activities

Colors: Place the bean bags on the floor near your child and as him/her to give you the blue one. Start with just 2 colors and progress to picking out one color out of 4 or 5. Infants and Toddlers also enjoy putting them in and out of boxes. An old shoe box with a hole cut in the top is very useful for this purpose and lets them take the lid off to get the bean bags back out. (supervision required for children under 3)

Gross Motor: Set out a laundry basket at one end of the room and ask children to stand at the other end and toss the bean bags in. They can also do a relay race with 2 cushions between them and the laundry basket. They must run and jump over the cushions, place the bean bag in the basket, and then come back to get a second bean bag for the basket. To reinforce colors and reading for preschoolers you can use different baskets/boxes, each with a different color word on it and they must get the correct bean bags in each labeled basket/box.

This can be a wonderful rainy/snowy day activity to get the kids up and moving.

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