I’ve been wanting to make bean bags for the kids for a while now. There are so many good games we can play with just a bunch of bean bags. My mom told me she used to play with them when she was growing up. Seems like a nice old fashioned family activity….
So for Valentine’s day, that is what I made for the children, a bean bag for each of them. Heart-shaped of course.
(while browsing the internet I found this list of ideas for bean bag games)
Quick Beanbag Challenges
Throw a beanbag in the air, turn around, and catch it again.
Throw the beanbag up and backwards over your head and try to catch it behind your back.
Throw the beanbag in the air, clap your hands once, and catch it. Now try clapping your hands twice, then three times, and so on. How high can you go?
Throw the beanbag in the air and clap your hands under your right leg before catching it. Now try with your left leg. Now clap behind your back. Invent some more challenges.
Throw the beanbag up, jump, and try to catch it. Jump twice. Jump three times!
Throw it up, kneel down and try to catch it.
Throw and catch with just your right hand, then with just your left.
Try throwing it up and catching it with your eyes closed!
Balance the beanbag on your right foot, then throw it up and catch it from there. Can you do it with your left foot too?
Can you throw the beanbag up and catch it on your left foot?
Can you run with a beanbag balanced on your head? Can you jump? Can you twist around? Can you kneel down and stand up again, or sit down? Can you climb the stairs? Can you do any of these things with two beanbags balanced on your head? Or three?
Try balancing a beanbag on each shoulder while you walk, run, jump etc.
Sing one of your favourite songs or rhymes while you throw the beanbag up and catch it, or pass it round a circle of children.
Set up a variety of hoops, containers and targets and have some throwing practice.
How far can you throw the beanbag? Does it make a difference if you throw over-arm or underarm?
Good to be Home 
so very creative 🙂
That is a great idea. I used do things like that with my daughter. God bless
Kelly
Those are so cute. I love them. You need to find a really pretty special basket or box to store them in. They will cherish them, I am sure.
What a great idea! I really need to learn how to sew.
Your are such a creative Mommy. I LOVE IT.
Aw! So cute!! The girls have Strawberry Shortcake beanbags in vintage material, but they’re not personalized! Yours are so very special!! I love all of the game ideas!
You’re so clever and the games sound fun. Did you already give them to the kids or was that somebody else’s child’s hand sneaking into the picture?? ; )
Hi Shanda!
What a great idea! I just sent an e-mail off to my friend, Kris. She teaches sewing in our home school co-op, so I hope you don’t mind but I sent her a picture of the bean bags you made and the list of bean bag games. It would be a great project for our sewing class. I love that you put the kids names on each of them. They turned out really cute! The games are really creative as well. Thanks for sharing such a neat idea. I’ll bet your kids will love them!
I love your new hair cut and your profile pic. Very cute! You look so fresh and vibrant. It’s hard to believe you are so pregnant. You look great!
Have a wonderful day!
@onehappymomma – The older kids haven’t seen them, Caleb (my shadow) caught me photographing them and got close enough that I could get his little hand in the picture. The bean bags are all in hiding now, waiting for 2/14, which is on a Saturday this year (makes me happy, ’cause Rich will be home). . . . .we’ll have a party day!
Very creative!
What is the piano piece playing on your site? It’s just beautiful and I’d really like to buy it from iTunes. Thanks!
Love the idea! I am happy Grace’s is PINK very cute!
A is home today with an ear infection (we ended up at the Dr’s @ 6:45 last night) and Weston was up 1/2 the night crying with a little temp…but today he seems a bit better!
Have a great day
Those are absolutely lovely! What a sweet gift; I know they will cherish those forever
@Ponder_ing – It is titled, “The Gift” by David Nevue. Glad you like it, it’s one of my favorites…..He also has a cd of hymns that is beautiful, too.
Rissy’s birthday is at the end of February and these bean bags (attached to a set of suggested games) would make excellent party favors!
Those are so cute! You did a great job!
You did it! Love the project!
Very cute!
So very cute! I love that you put their names on them…and that Grace’s is pink! I have a developmental exercise book, and beanbags are in there. So, not only are they fun…they are good for the brain and body. Throwing the beanbags through a small narrow opening is good for this (we used the back of a high stool that had spindles. Also just tossing them like some of the games suggested is good…and tossing to one another crossing over the midline of the body ( you would throw with your right hand and they would catch with their right hand when facing one another…then be sure to switch and do with left. I have some cute gingerbread boys and girls that I made David when he was little. They are bean bags!! Thought of you, as you have been into gingerbread stories of late. I will dig them out and post a pic. Shanda, you are getting my valentine thoughts going! I already have several things planned…I will be sure to post them too It is so fun to be able to share in your life and happiness as a family. My mom always did such cute fun things for us as kids and I appreciate it with fond memories.
They are so sweet! I think once you hand them out you better wear a helmet, though! Did you use Aida cloth for them or embroider them “free hand?” I couldn’t tell from the picture. The red cloth looks like it has tiny squares, but not the pink.
@DanishDoll – It’s just regular material from my stash…I embroidered freehand with a small hoop and 4 strands of floss. I had wished that I used white for the boys’ names, I think it would’ve looked nicer than the dark blue. I didn’t have any, though.
Love the bean bags. My mom made some square ones a while back for my children. They were made with blue fabric, but a couple of them were made with Clifford (the big red dog) fabric. My dad helped stuff them with rice (guess they should be called rice bags…). I cherish these more now that my dad has passed away. Sometimes they try to toss them into a basket placed across the room. I like that yours have names on them…that way there is no discrepency as to whose is the winner:).
I really liked your idea of making little undershirts special by embroidering on them, and I bought one to see if I can do it without making it look nasty! I may just sew a band of Aida cloth onto the shirt because I am not good at free hand stuff.
I love that you take time to do creative things for and with your children. It nurtures both your soul and their’s. I love the beanbags….absolutely darling! -Maria P.S. You inspired me a couple of weeks ago with your embroidered onesies. I embroidered a little lamb for our new April baby. 🙂
Cute idea. I love Grace’s pink in the midst of all all boys’ red.
How very Cute! I just made larger ones for my kids this week, except we stick ours in the microwave for two minutes, snuggle with them in the evenings and when they go to bed.
What a thoughtful mamma 🙂
What a great idea!! I’ll have to keep that idea for when Ruby & Levi get bigger — special toys for grammie’s house when they come to visit and they won’t take up much space!! They’ll be receiving them on my 39th wedding anniversary!!
Thanks!
They turned out awesome Shan! Great job and great idea!
these are just darling! so creative girl~
I’m picturing hearts flying all over on Valentine’s day.:)
These are so adorable! You do great work!
High commendations to a most excellent mother! As Jenny mentioned earlier, we’ve had many memories anchored in beans bags (and other tossed object). I wish that all families would enjoy such simple pleasures. As our boys aged, we have used myriad objects in throwing/pitching/lobbing games. Birthday parties have used old bright yellow 5″ diameter plastic rings, bright green Spray-N-Wash aerosol tops, multi-colored Silly String tops, the ever-popular watermelon rind slices, and corks. All of these items were otherwise just trash. As you well know, rules to competitions can always be equalizers. Teamwork games and relays augment laughter. Family gatherings at our place always provoke cork wars (see any of our Thanksgiving posts), akin to lobbing balls of Christmas wrap during gift giving. I hope that you’ll find cork wars an enjoyable diversion at your home too.Ooh, then there’s balled-up sock fights….frisbees…tennis balls….Fun aplenty to you, dear friend!-Bob (on Jenny’s login)