Posted in My Homeschool FAQs

I have been making bean bags. 



Our homeschool group is going to be having a P.E. class starting in a few weeks and the person teaching it wanted bean bags for the kids to play with.  My kids love playing with bean bags.  Our favorite game is to blance them of various body parts while we sing.  "Put your bean bag on your head, on your head.  Put your bean bag on you head, on your head.  Put your bean bag on your head.  Put your bean bag on your head. Put your bean bag on your head, on your head!" This is sung loosley to the tune of "If Your Happy And You Know It"  (Continue the same song to a variety of body parts.)  Sometimes I have them pick body parts that from a certain letter of the alphabet.  I may say "H" and they would yell out head, hand, heart and maybe hiney!  LOL  We also use them to play catch, toss into a box or hula hoop.  Practice walking with good posture while balancing a bean bag on your head, set up empty water bottles and bowl with the bean bags, etc.

Another idea I have with bean bags that I have not done yet is to help with spelling.  I was thinking about making about 30-40 bean bags and putting the letters of the alphabet on them with a Sharpie Marker.   Then when I give my daughter a spelling word she could toss the letters to me to spell out the words.  She would LOVE this!  (I'll have to get to work on this one.) I was also thinking that I could throw her a bean bag and then she would have to think of a word that started with that letter and then spell the word for me before throwing it back.  Or I could toss her a bean bag and she would have to tell me the phonics sound for that letter and tell me a word tht started or ended with that letter.

What about Math?  I could give her 4 + 2 bean bags and she could throw them across the room into a box or bucket.  Then she would have to go count how many 4+2 equals...For subtraction I could toss her 6 bean bags and then ask her to toss me 2 back.  Then she could figure out that 6-2=4!  For multiplication I could have her "build" the problems by making 3 pile of 2 to find out that 3x2=6.

Here is a cool site I found with lots of bean bag ideas.

In case anyone is wondering about making the bean bags...They are super simple. To make 30 bean bags I cut 60 square 6"x6".  Then you sew 2 of the squares together with right sides together.  I zig-zag stiched and then went back a 2nd time and straight stiched them.  I wanted to insure the beans wouldn't leak through the stiches.  Make sure to leave about a 3 inch opening on one side.  Keep sewing until you have stiched up all 30 bags.  (BTW, 1 1/2 yards of fabric makes 31 bean bags this size.)  Turn all the bags right side out.  If you are going to write the letters on them I would do it at this point.  I also would right the lower case on one side and uppercase on the other.  Once they are all turned you are ready for the beans!  I bought 10 pounds of the cheapest beans I could find.(I spent about $7.00 on beans and $4.50 on fabric to make 30 bags.) You could also use rice or popcorn.  I filled my 8 cup measuring cup with beans and then filled the bags half full before stiching closed.  I zig-zag stiched them closed and went over the whole side that had the opening about 3 times to mke sure they wouldn't leak.  Viola!  You have bean bags!  If you have an older child this would make  great beginning sewing project.  They would also make great gifts.  I made a bunch for my nephews last year and they love them!

The possibilities are endless!

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