Fun Bean Bag Games, to Play at Home!
Each morning before we sit down together for story or for our morning lesson, we start with a movement game or activity of some sort. Our bean bags are so absolutely beautiful, I love them. They are a mixture of home made lavender and rice bags and these beautiful handmade sand bags from a small etsy seller called Sandie’s Sandbags. We keep them in a basket with the rest of our morning circle activity items. If I am honest, this is the part of the morning that our children absolutely love the most!
Movement games and activities get our bodies warmed up so that our minds are ready for learning. Everyone benefits from movement games for children, EVEN US PARENTS!
Movement games make the rest of the morning, just, flow beautifully. I have noticed that my boys are calmer and more open to learning after a successful morning circle full of fun and games.
Clapping, bean bag games, finger games, rhythmic movement exercises, are all fun and engaging ways of bringing movement into your morning. Bean bag games can be a good warm up in the morning as well as a great way to “breathe out” after a period of learning when your lessons are complete. Usually for us though, we head off to a reserve or park after our morning lesson. So it works for us to do them as part of our morning circle. Singing songs or reciting verses while playing bean bag games, make the whole experience fun and meaningful. There are several ways to incorporate seasonal themes to your bean bag fun through song as well!
I usually like to choose three different seasonal songs for us to learn for each season, and for the rest we stick to our favourites. And do not worry, before you tell me that you do not know any songs… you do! using good old fashioned nursery rhymes from your own childhood will do just fine.
We usually start our morning circle time with a morning song and then straight on to the bean bags. As there is only three of us, myself and my two children, I usually get them to take turns in retrieving the bean bag basket. The basket sits next to the person who has gotten it and it is their job to pass out the bean bags. Once again, as there is only three of us we just turn the passing of the bean bags into a little game. The bean bags get passed one at a time from right hand, to lap, to left hand and then to your neighbour… if the basket is beside you you put the bean bag back in the basket for it to be picked out again. As this happens we sing a little song, when the song finishes we stop passing the bean bags and the bag in your lap is the one you keep. We sometimes alternate our songs, however, one we are loving right now is called Hickory, Dickory, Dare.
Many verses and songs can be recited with bean bag passing. This is also a wonderful way to memorize a poem!
Hickory, dickory, dare,
The pig flew up in the air.
A man in brown
Brought him down
Hickory, dickory, dare.
Higglety, pigglety, pop!
The dog has eaten the mop;
The pig’s in a hurry,
The cat’s in a flurry,
Higglety, pigglety, pop!
Hoddley, poddley, puddle and fogs,
Cats are to marry the poodle dogs;
Cats in blue jackets and dogs in red hats,
What will become of the mice and the rats?
Tumbling Jack goes clickety-clack,
Down the ladder and then comes back,
Clickety-clack, rattle and hop,
Over and down again, flipperty-flop!
Now we have the bean bag we like to mix the batter! Make sure hands are at waist level and we pass the bean bag around our own waist clock wise once the song is complete we change and go anti clockwise.
Mix the batter
Mixing Batter, mixing batter
Mix it so it doesn’t splatter
Round about the bowl is right
White and gold and gold and white
Mixing batter makes the cake
That the baker’s man must bake.
We like to take turns tossing the bean bags to each other, sometimes with one hand behind our back, sometimes two at a time, sometimes with a little clap before we toss the bean bag. the children usually like to make up the moves at this point! Another one they love to do is to put the bean bag on the top of their head and let it drop into open hands, or even hold the bean bag under the chin and do the same. This one is great for concentration. Songs we love to sing are:
Golden Wattle
Golden Wattle, fairy stuff
Little balls of yellow fluff
Hear the bees how loud they hum
To say they’re glad that Spring is come
When the stars begin to peep
Then the wattle falls asleep
Like a tired child in bed
It droops it’s pretty curly head
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, Merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh Kookaburra
Gay your life must be.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Eating all the gumdrops he can see
Stop kookaburra, stop kookaburra,
Leave some there for me!
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Counting all the koalas he can see
Stop, kookaburra, stop kookaburra,
That’s no Koala, That’s Me!
Sally goes round the sun
Sally goes round the Sun
Sally goes round the moon
Sally goes round the chimney pot on a Sunday afternoon!
Other bean bag games you can try are:
- Toss the bean bag to yourself and see how many claps you can get in before you catch it.
- Bean bag toss into the basket.
- Bean bag relays
- Bean bag balance, we like to use the wobble board for this one! one person balances on the wobble board and the other tosses them bean bags.
- Bean bag obstacle course, can you complete the obstacle course with a bean bag on your head?
- Toss them and match them on coloured paper or lay out alphabet cards and see if you can land the bean bag on the card as the letter gets called out.
There are so many ways to have fun using bean bags with your children. They are by far one of my most favourite resources!
When they are not being used in games they make a wonderful open ended toy. Our bean bag games and songs are always changing as we learn and grow. If you have some you would love to share I would love to hear them. Please let me know in the comments below.
Our beautiful handmade sandbags as pictured, are made by the beautiful Lara of Sandies Sandbags. You can get some of your own by following the link below.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/sandiessandbags/
Much love,
H x