Valentine’s Day: Peek-a-Boo Heart Bean Bags

Keep your own heart healthy, moving around with this fun prop!

Materials

• Felt (2 colours)
• Pinking shears (optional)
• Fabric scissors
• Plastic pellets (Polyfil type material.  You can by these at craft and dollar stores.)
• Sewing materials (you can sew these by hand or by machine)
• Funnel
• Plastic zip bag
• Ruler & sewing marker *optional

Directions

• Cut three copies of a rectangle out of your felt- two of one colour and one of another.  We used pinking shears, but you could use regular fabric scissors. (Depending on your child’s age and abilities you may need to use a sewing marker to draw out the rectangle beforehand or you could pin a paper rectangle to the felt, making a template, cutting around it.)  We found layering the cut one on top of the next piece of felt made them the same size.  Our pinking shears were quite sharp so we were able to cut out two layers at once, with an adult helping to hold it taut.

• Fold one of the same colour pieces of felt in half lengthwise and cut out a heart, using the fold at the middle.

• Place this on top of the different coloured piece of felt and sew around the edge of the heart and the edges of the rectangle as shown on the left below.  The heart will  peek out

• Layer this on top of your last piece of felt and then sew around the edges, leaving a gap that would be big enough to fit your funnel.  We suggest a thicker stitch to withstand all the tossing!

• Slip your funnel into the gap in the bean bag sewing and fill your bean bags with plastic pebbles inside a clear plastic bag so you can see what you are doing and so that the pebbles stay contained.  You may want to use a scoop or spoon or some children will enjoy the sensory experience of using their hands to fill the funnel.  (You may also want to have a vacuum on hand!)

• Carefully sew up the gap.  (Move the beads to the other side of the bean bag to avoid breaking your sewing machine needle.)

• Have fun tossing your beanbags to a friend or to a target!

Purpose

• Make props to promote activity.

Safety Notes

• Be sure to keep plastic pellets away from small children (0-3 years) to prevent consumption.
• A sewing machine is recommended for adult use or based on your child’s age and abilities, with direct supervision.