Bean bag races and numeracy, a workout for our bodies and our brains.

Races are my all time favourite way to get kids moving! I would hold races in my classroom daily to get students working key areas such as their vestibular and proprioceptive systems as well as their core muscles, all of which are vital to have developed before academic work and success could be achieved.

In a special educational needs classroom, races also were a great way to incorporate choice making and social connections between students. Before a race, a student would be chosen by the teacher and they would then choose who they wanted to race against and what type of race they were going to compete in. The other students who were not participating in the race would sit on the side lines shouting or signing out 'ready, set, go'. To add an element of numeracy we would tally the number of races won by each child, using our counting skills to work out who had won the most races.

While I may not have a class to teach at the moment, I do have a daughter and her cousins to take care of on occasions. The last time they came around I decided we needed to have a go at some of the races I used to set up for my students.

For these races, which are not all the types of races I used to conduct, we used

• small buckets
•  bean bags with a clear pocket. Find instructions on how to make some here.
• 
  

Running Race

Our first race was a simple running race to see who could collect the most amount of bean bags which had been scattered around the lawn. In one version of the race the children had to run and collect a bean bag and bring it back to their bucket which was at the finish line. In another version the children were allowed to take their buckets with them as they scrambled to get their bean bags. 

Rolling Race 

For this race the children had to roll along the lawn to get to the bean bags. In order to roll properly it would have been better for them to leave their buckets behind. Proper rolling, that really activates the core muscles, occurs when children lie straight with hands above their heads and their feet together. This way they need to use their stomach muscles to turn themselves over and not their hands or legs. Unfortunately this time the kids insisted that they take their buckets with them which meant they were not rolling by using their core muscles but rather their legs and elbows.

Crawling Races

For this race the children had to collect their bean bags by crawling around the lawn. Unfortunately this photos isn't the best for showing the kids crawling as they have both stopped to pick up a bean bag. Crawling is a fantastic activity to help children who may be restless as the pressure on the limbs from carrying the child's body weight can have a calming effect. It is also a form of cross crawling which gets kids right and left side of the brain working together.

Unfortunately these are the only photos I have of the races we ran that day. There were a few more sorts of races we did before the children had a snack break. Those races were...

Bunny Hop Races
Children hopped around on all fours like bunnies in order to collect their bean bags.

Seal or Commando Races
Lying on their stomachs, the children moved around by wiggling their bottoms and torsoes, using only their hands and elbows to pull them forward. The legs and feet stay together without helping. This is an awesome workout for the core muscles.

Races and Numeracy Skills

As I mentioned before, races where students are collecting something like bean bags are also a great opportunity for introducing or further developing numeracy skills. The winner of these races was not who got back to the finish line first but who collected the most bean bags. Therefore in order to know who won, every one's bean bags had to be counted and tallied.

For my niece who is older than the others and also more advanced with her numeracy skills, I increased the level of difficulty by placing 2 digit numbers in the clear pockets. Instead of counting out how many bean bags every one got, she had to add the numbers together to see who had the greatest total.

 
I hope that in the near future I can organise more races for these guys and do a better job of photographing them so I can show you more of my race ideas. If you are an educator, I hope this post has given you some ideas for incorporating physical activities with numeracy skills. I can assure you the children find it more appealing than sitting over counters and counting worksheets! Again if you are not familiar with the benefits of physical activities and academic achievement please have a look at my interview with Occupational Therapist Cara Sheekey who explains it very well. Here.

Until next time happy playing!

Bowling without a ball or pins, how do we do that?

We have had the most shocking weather this afternoon, gloomy and rainy, not that cold but still not the kind of weather you go out in. My daughter thought this was a great opportunity to beg her mother for a Disney film but we'd already watched one the day before, ok and the day before that. So not today kiddo!

So while she continued to nag and play the 'I'm tired, I need a quiet film' game I searched the house for stuff we could use to play a fun and inspiring game and specifically one that did not require us to sit on our bums.

So with a hoola hoop, some bean bags and a bunch of balloons we invented our own version of ten pin bowling, minus the ball and pins.

Just to let you know this kept the whole family entertained for around an hour and we only stopped because we had to sit down for dinner. Best thing about it, the nagging for a film instantly stopped!

So if you are wondering how balloons, a hoola hoop and bean bags become a game of bowling continue reading!

What you will need

• 5 bean bags
• 10 balloons 
• 1 hoola hoop
• Something to mark a line to throw from. 
• All breakables removed from the area. 

Just like bowling, the aim of the game is to throw something that will move ten items. This time you throw the bean bags to knock the balloons out of the hoop. Like in bowling you get a limited amount of shots to knock out the ten balloons. In the our version that we played ,we let each player have 5 shots.

Once you've had your shots you need to count how many you've knocked out and mark that down on a tally sheet

Note: If you have a preschooler or first grader you can easily use this game to introduce subtraction. Just count the balloons left in the hoop and subtract that number from ten!

Just like in regular bowling, you can play a round of 10 turns and at the end tally how many balloons you knocked out of the hoop to get your total score. Person with the highest score wins!

For anyone trying this with a non-verbal child, below are two aided language displays you can use with this game. One is specifically for this game and other other is a general numbers 0-10 that you can use with the game or for other games with numbers. Feel free to use for personal use only.

Note: If you don't know how to use aided language displays please see my post here for more details. 

I hope you get to try our version of bowling. If only I had video of my daughter playing. How she laughed every time she hit the balloons making them fly into the air! This is seriously some great family fun!

Happy bowling and happy playing! 

How to sew a bean bag with clear pocket

Bean bags are an essential part of fun in our household. We love throwing them at each other, in baskets and behind furniture, unfortunately. For a long time now I've been thinking about bean bags with plastic pockets. This way I could use them as a learning tool as well as a source of fun. As a teacher I can't believe I didn't get my hands on some for my classroom. Imagine how much longer my students would have been focused and interested in learning the ABC's or numbers if we did so while throwing bean bags at each other while doing so. 

While I will save the 'how to use these bean bags as a teaching aid' in future posts, today I will explain how to make one.

What you will need

• Plastic film often used for table cloths (you can buy this at a fabric store or at the hardware store. It comes on a roll)
• Non-stretch fabric pieces
• Rice or wheat to fill bean bags
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Sewing pins
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting mat
• Ironing board and iron

 How to make

First iron and then cut out your fabric. For each bean bag you will need two pieces of fabric cut at 6 inches by 4 inches. Then cut out your plastic film at 5 inches by 4 inches.

 

Arrange the plastic piece so it is aligned with the bottom and sides of the bean bag fabric. There will be an inch gap at the top which you want. Once you have done that put the other fabric piece on top, right side facing in. Pin in place and sew the three sides together leaving the top open. Snip the corners and turn the bean bag inside out.

Note: When turning the bean bag inside out place your thumb on the plastic bringing it towards the side you want it to be on. For example with this bean bag I wanted the pocket on the non-print fabric side. If you do this the plastic pocket will always show up on the side you want it.

Once you have turned it right side out, poke the corners with something to bring them completely out. Pour in some filling and turn the open end of the fabric in half an inch. 

Sew together shut with the sewing machine or by hand and then you are finished! All you need to do now is print some pictures to put into the pockets, with which the possibilities are endless. Here I've put in some pictures of things so we can play an initial sound game.

I hope you've enjoyed the tutorial and as always happy playing!