Your Beans Aren't Baked

Although our bean box is still a favorite rainy day activity, the frequency of rain here in NC has left us in need of a bean box upgrade. The addition of wooden stringing beads I had from my teacher days has increased the value and fun of our bean box.

Now we can use our box as a seek and find game that helps Linus practice his recognition of colors and shapes. Once I've mixed in some beads, I can challenge Linus to find a blue bead and he'll quickly start digging through his bean box until he spots one. Of course, right now he doesn't really know 3-dimensional shapes but eventually I can increase the challenge by requesting a blue sphere or red cylinder.

We've also used attribute sorter manipulatives which allows me to challenge Linus to find something with two familiar attributes (yellow boat). Linus even enjoyed sending me hunting by calling out challenges like "dead aisle tuck" (red firetruck).

If you feel like being creative or just want to save a little cash, you can find random objects (buttons, cut paper shapes, etc) from around the house to mix into your bean box.

Once you've upgraded your bean box, you'll find it has hours of more fun left in it.