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Homemade Toys: Bean Bag Toss

Make your own bean bag toss from a cardboard box!


Confession:  My kid throws toys.

I know that it’s developmentally appropriate for a young child to throw things, but I still don’t like it when J throws his toys.  I have decided that the best way to handle this is to redirect the behavior into something more appropriate.

There are some things that I don’t mind if he throws…like balls, or beanbags.  So, I made a very simple bean bag toss game to keep inside.  Now when J throws something, I can say “J, that toy is not for throwing, but you can throw a beanbag instead.”

This activity is also great for gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.  J’s aim is not all that great right now, but a game like this can help improve that skill.

Here’s what you’ll need

  • cardboard box
  • knife
  • paint and paper to decorate.

This was super simple:

Take a regular old cardboard box and make two diagonal cuts on opposite sides of the box.

IMG_2634

Open it up and it looks like this.

IMG_2636

Cut off the flaps and flip it over.

IMG_2638

Cut a hole for the beanbags.

IMG_2641

Then decorate!


Bean Bag toss

Oh….and you’ll need beanbags.  I knit these up to go along with our new game.  I love them so much!

If you are a knitter (or know someone who is) and would like to know how I made them…shoot me an email.  They were super easy!

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by Amanda 22 Comments

Filed Under: Play Tagged With: DIY Toys and Games, homemade toys, Large Motor Play, Preschool, Toddler

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jode

    March 1, 2012 at 11:55 am

    I bet he has lots of fun with this! My twin girls love beanbags although i only sewed mine….knitting is a whole new level!!!

    Reply
    • Amanda

      March 1, 2012 at 7:30 pm

      That’s funny because sewing is so much more stressful to me than knitting. I probably knit these up faster than it would have taken me to sew them! I guess we all have our crafts! I love the look of sewn ones…there are so many possiblites!

      Reply
  2. Growing a Jeweled Rose

    March 1, 2012 at 1:55 pm

    Aw, this is adorable! I love the bean bags! I wish I could knit 🙂

    Reply
    • Amanda

      March 1, 2012 at 7:31 pm

      Thanks! Knitting keeps me sane!

      Reply
  3. Caroline - De tout et de rien

    March 1, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    I wish I could knit too and /or have the talent to do so. I tried and Oh! my….still laughing at my last attempt. The box with the mouth is SO cute!!!!

    Reply
    • Amanda

      March 1, 2012 at 7:33 pm

      Thanks Caroline! I’m pretty much a crazy knitting lady, but don’t ask me to sew anything! BTW…I LOVE your blog, especially the sensory bottles!

      Reply
  4. Melanie @ bear rabbit bear

    March 2, 2012 at 2:18 pm

    This looks like so much fun!! Thanks for sharing! http://www.bearrabbitbear.com

    Reply
  5. andthatsfamily

    March 2, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    What a good idea! Much cuter than any store bought version I have ever seen!

    Reply
  6. WildPreschoolTwins

    March 4, 2012 at 1:07 am

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply
  7. WildPreschoolTwins

    March 4, 2012 at 1:08 am

    Super cute!! Thanks for linking up with kids co-op!

    Reply
  8. Beth (www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com)

    March 9, 2012 at 12:15 pm

    This turned out SO cute! What a clever idea! I am featuring this at TGIF this week http://www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/2012/03/tgif-linky-party-20.html – Come stop on by and grab and I was featured button & link up what you’ve been up to this week!
    Beth =)

    Reply
  9. Brett Lamb

    April 26, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    My own blog post all about Toys, :).

    http://coffeefueledphilosophy.blogspot.com/2012/04/toys.html

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    November 9, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    I got to make this for my grandsons,but i love to crochet,so i will crochet my beanbags,and for anyone wanting to learn how to knit or crochet they free online lesson.Look them up on you tube.

    Reply
  11. jackie @ happy hooligans

    November 26, 2013 at 10:54 pm

    This is just adorable, and I LOVE those KNITTED beanbags!

    Reply
  12. Jennifer Gray

    March 21, 2014 at 1:32 am

    I would love the pattern for knitting up those bean bags!
    Thank you!

    Reply
  13. MFS

    September 2, 2016 at 11:10 pm

    Did you line the knit bean bags? I’m working on a Montessori knitting club project and I’m curious how to keep the beans in a garter stitch square, which each child made. I’d love some direction.

    Reply
    • Amanda

      September 6, 2016 at 6:51 pm

      Hey there. I did not line the bags. I used a pretty tight gauge and big beans, so they wouldn’t fall out between the stitches. We’ve had these for a few years now, and haven’t lost a bean yet!

      Reply

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