Physical Friday: Bean Bag Toss Valentine Special

Sammi loves to throw things! I think it came from another episode of the Sesame Street Podcast: Basketball. She shows me how to throw the ball just like in the video. It's so fun.

In keeping with the Valentine's Day theme, since it IS tomorrow, I thought I'd introduce you to a classic game of bean bag toss, Valentine-style. I made these bags (they actually have rice, not beans) out of this cute, soft, pink fabric I found in my stash. Then I found this fun, already-decorated, very pink box and voila, instant Valentine fun!
There are so many variations for throwing the bags into the box. You can see how far your little one can throw. Move the box (or your child) a little each time the bag goes in the box. You can see how high they can throw it and have it land in the box. Try tossing it underhand or overhand. Try standing right next to the box, hold the bag to your nose and drop it in. The box is just a target, something that motivates the action. The bag doesn't really need to land in the box every time. Help your child experiment with throwing the bean bag.

It takes a lot of fine motor skills to open your fingers to let go, especially when your arm is already moving. Children need to practice letting go just like they need to practice picking things up. Both help develop muscle control in the fingers which is essential for using utensils or writing.

Find as much pink or red as you can today to turn everyday play into Valentine's Day play! If you are not finding a lot of already-pink things, cut out some pink hearts and decorate a box or bucket so it becomes a special Valentine's Day toy.

Happy Valentine's Day!