1. Toss Bean Bag to Yourself – Children can try and toss a bean bag up and down to work on catching, throwing, and body control.
Let them compete with themselves to see how many they can get in a row or how high they can throw it up and still maintain enough control to catch it again.
It is great for them to set goals and try and break their own personal record. This teaches children perseverance and the value of practice.
2. “Bubble Gum” Rhyme – Kids love rhymes and songs. Pass the bean bag to this rhyme: “Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum in a Dish. How many pieces do you wish?”
Whoever the bean bag lands on gets to say how many pieces and then you keep passing that many times. Start the rhyme over again.
If you have a large group, children that get “out” can go to the center of the circle until you find the last person standing.
3. Bean Bag Catch – Give one child a plastic container. You might want to find something that cannot break.
Let the other child toss the bean bag. They need to work together as a team to try and catch as many as they can.
4. Bean Bag Relays – Have the children balance the bean bag on a body part and race to the finish. Yes, it’s OK that only one of them can win.
These relays can last for a while because you can choose different body parts. They can balance on their head, arm, back, back of their hand or shoulder as they race from one spot to the next.
5. Bean Bag Balance – This is a test to see who can balance on a body part the longest (chest, head, arm, food, cheek, back of hand or face). This works on self-control and balance. Last child standing wins.
6. Bean Bag Basketball – This is a toss game where they take turns trying to get the bean bag in the bucket. You can vary the position starting point based on the child’s age to make it fair.
7. Bean Bag Music Freeze – Play music. Let them dance or throw the bean bags while the music is going. When the music stops, they need to freeze. This can be a competitive game where children can sit out if they don’t freeze in time. It can also just be fun to repeat this over and over and not have children go out.
8. Hide the Bean bag – Take turns hiding the bean bag and then having the others go and search for it. Children love to search for things.
