Ah, the long summer days are upon us. Here’s a great frugal idea to keep your kids busy. I bought three bags of beans (white, black, and pinto) and gave the kids measuring spoons, cups, and some bowls from the kitchen. We used the train table because it has the lip all around; I’d also suggest you do this activity on the rug so that when the beans hit the floor they don’t bounce and end up all over. They spent a good 40 minutes pouring, dumping, playing, etc. and then we took a small bowl over to the kitchen table and glued them to construction paper. The 4-year-old loved it; the 2-year-olds thought it was “too sticky.” After we cleaned it all up, I told them they could do it again next week (I’m learning that I have to space activities out further so they’re still novel and exciting). Total cost was $2.72, and it should provide lots of tactile experience, counting, and art activities for the summer.
For more Works-for-Me-Wednesday ideas, check out Rocks in My Dryer.
Works for Me: Frugal Fun with Beans
June 25, 2008 By 5 Comments
Comments
Trackbacks
-
[...] Labor Eating Fruits & Vegetables Feed Your Kids, Party-Style Filing School Artwork/Paperwork Frugal Fun with Beans Playdates Toy Switcheroo Toys R Us Birthday Club Using Summer Clothes Through Winter Vinegar & [...]
great idea – thanks!
Any ideas for how to keep this activity sane if I don’t have a train table?
I would suggest keeping it all close to the floor, so each kid could get a cookie sheet for their own beans (this is assuming you don’t have a baby nearby). Or, go for depth and use a big foil baking pan (like a turkey pan). They’re going to get on the floor–it’s inevitable–so being on a carpet is preferable to sitting at the dining room table where they can fall and bounce.
Creepy! We just did this exact acitivity. I drew an outline of a flower and we made a “mosaic” using various beens.
I use to keep a large tub of beans or rice in the back of my van. I had measuring cups, bottles, small bowels, etc. in the tub. When my older ones were at an outdoor activity I would pull this tub out as sort of a “portable” sandbox. Really kept my little ones occupied and is cleaner than dirt or sand.