Ronnie Flansburg
Beanbags for Fun Movement
I made my own beanbags with black beans and snack sized storage bags. I sew, so I also made covers for them, but taped up snack bags work, too.
I used them with 3 and 5 year old boys with the Greg & Steve's song "Beanbag Boogie". I encouraged lots of different movements in addition to the ones on the song. Later we did a toss game on a pasteboard that I labeled with 3 circles. Each circle had a number and the 5 yr. old had to add up his points. You could also do a poster of letters and numbers and have the child call out what their beanbag lands on.
On YouTube, Jack Hartman has a video called Beanbag Bop that shows the words to match the movements. It's good reading practice.
Also on YouTube is a video by some guys from the Little Gym called "Beanbag Movement Challenge" that incorporates lots of body exercises you would see in a gymnastics class. In that one, they make suggestions for how to make this a family activity and how to use other objects if you don't have actual beanbags. This one is jazzy and lots of fun.
