Beanbag Color Toss
Resources: Unplugged Play pgs. 101-102
Materials:
- Colored beanbags
- Colored construction paper
- Invisible tape
- Hula hoops
Skills:
- hand-eye-coordination
- gross motor skills
- color identification
- cooperation
- with extensions, number and letter identification
Age: 2-5
Beanbags. Kids love beanbags. There is something about a little bag full of beans that an adult hands you and you are not only given permission to throw, but actually encouraged to do so! My boys needed something to keep them busy, so out came the beanbags! They were so excited they were pinging off the walls while I tried to get the game set up, but we managed to get it pulled together. 🙂
How to play: I taped different colors of construction paper all around the floor. Then I gave each boy a hula hoop to stand in and a pile of beanbags to throw. They were to throw each colored beanbag on its matching colored paper. Once all of the beanbags were thrown I showed my 5-year-old how to distribute the beanbags back into the hula hoops and start again.
At first my 2-year-old just randomly threw the beanbags, much to the distress of his older brother who wanted the colors to match. It was great for him, though, because he was able to quickly get the hang of how to throw the beanbags and then could move on to recognizing colors.
The boys had tons of fun, and I could see some different learning happening for each of them! Plus it was a great way for them to practice working together.
Extensions:
- Write numbers on the papers and have the kids throw the correct number of beanbags onto each paper.
- Write alphabet letters on the papers and have the kids throw the correct ABC beanbag onto each paper.
- Time the kids to see how quickly they can make the matches. Have them repeat and try to beat their time.
