Catch them
Bean bags are easier to catch then a ball. This is because they can be grabbed more easily, and this may make them a vital ingredient in your PE kitchen.
When thinking about managing difference, bean bags should be vital part of your recipes, as they can make throwing and catching games accessible to those who struggle to catch a tennis ball.
Hide them
Bean bags can be hidden under tall cones. This makes them interesting hidden treasure to find.
Perhaps you could include them in Capture the Flag for example, where the targets are tall cones at each end of the pitch. Playing in two teams of five players, each player needs to get to the opposition’s cones without being tagged on the way. Some cones have bean bags underneath and some don’t. When you score you can lift just one cone and have a look, and if there is treasure then you can steal it and hide it back at your end again.
Balance them
The most common use for bean bags is to balance them on the head during races.
You can also include them in a similar way in this tag game:
Everyone (both taggers and those being chased) has a bean bag on their heads. If you are tagged or if your bean bag falls, then you are frozen. You can be unfrozen by a team-mate if they can return the bean bag from the floor back onto your head without dropping their own bean bag.
Slide them
Bean bags slide along the floor on an indoor hall.
This could make for an interesting tag game where the bags are slid across the floor, aiming at people’s feet.
Or you could play bowling where pairs or small teams compete to see who can slide a bean bag so it stops nearest a marker.
Want more ideas, games and top tip?
'A Year of Primary PE' is packed full of simple, easy-to-use, effective games for brilliant, engaging lessons
A must-have for every primary school
SARAH WATKINS - AUTHOR AND TEACHER @mini_Lebowski
This book is a must-have for every primary school. Mark’s passion for PE, grounded in experience, shines through and he offers an alternative approach that focuses on the holistic development of each learner, as well as developing physical skills. Every activity is carefully planned, tried and tested, engaging and purposeful.
