Who needs a boardwalk when you can make your own carnival games at home? This simple project yields a fun carnival game for preschoolers. Plus, aiming beanbags at holes and tossing them in, gives preschoolers practice with gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
What You Need:
- Large cardboard box, or three large pieces of cardboard
- A big heavy rock, or a bag of smaller stones
- Packing tape
- Poster paint in several colors
- Paintbrush
- Sharp scissors or box cutter
- 5 zip-lock bags
- 10 pieces of scrap material 4" x 6" in size
- Dried beans
- Needle and thread
What You Do:
1) Cut up the cardboard box so you have two large sides, attached by a seam, and one more large piece. The two attached sides should form two legs of a triangle, like a sandwich board. Tape the other piece to the bottom edges, so it forms a third, shorter leg for your 3-D triangle-- this is the piece that will sit on the floor.
2) Put the large heavy rock (or the bag of stones) on top of that last triangle leg, so it stabilizes the triangle. This will keep it from tipping over when your child begins tossing beanbags.
3) This next step is for adults only!: Cut three holes, one stacked on top of the other, with a few inches of space between them, into one of the long sides of your triangle. These will be the holes for the beanbag toss game. Make them large enough to make it possible for your child to toss one in!
4) Give your child a paintbrush and ask her to paint a different colored circle around each of the holes in the cardboard. If she'd like, she can also paint a number beside each hole, to represent the amount of points she thinks each throw should be worth.
5) While the paint dries, gather the scrap material, zip-lock bags, needle and thread, and dried beans. Fill each zip-lock about halfway with dried beans. Seal tightly.
6) Sew two squares of material on three sides, leaving the last side open. Turn it inside out, so the seams are hidden, and slide a bean-filled zip-lock inside. Sew it closed. Repeat with the other scrap material and zip-locks, until you have five beanbags.
Once the beanbags are sewn and the paint is dry, it's time to play! Stand your child a little bit back from the beanbag toss and let her try her luck. Practice makes perfect, so make it a regular habit to work on that toss. And invite some other kids to get in on the boardwalk action, too!
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