Dreaming of Spring: Bunnies in Burrows Bean Bag Game

A tongue twister title gives way to a simple, but fun game.  As we live near a wooded river-valley area, in spring our neighbourhood sees bunnies running about, much to our daughter’s delight!

Materials

• Black or brown felt for the burrows
• White, brown, grey felt for the bunnies (or go with any colours that appeals to you!)
• Pink felt for the noses
• Black fabric paint
• Fabric scissors
• Fabric glue
• Sewing materials
• Plastic pellets (purchased from craft or dollar stores)
• Funnel
• Measuring cup or scoop
• Clear plastic zippered bag
• Smock

Directions

• Fold your felt over and cut out two rectangles to form your bean bag pieces for as many bean bags as you would like.

• Cut out a set of ears and a nose (we did a triangle and rounded the corners).

• Don your smock.  Make two eyes out of fabric paint on one of your rectangles.  You could also sew on buttons.  Our bunny is quite simple- “make it your own”!

• Glue on your felt nose and allow your bunny face to dry overnight.  (You could also sew it on.)

• Sew around the edge of your bean bag, tucking the ears in between the two layers.  We used our sewing machine foot as a guide and then trimmed off the excess to make it uniform.  Be sure to leave a space in your sewing big enough to fit your funnel to fill your bean bag (as seen in the photograph).

• Put your beanbag into a see-through bag and add your plastic pellets, using a scoop and a funnel.  You don’t want to fill your bean bag too full to allow for movement.

• Move your pellets to the side opposite of the hole in your bean bag (to avoid needle breakage) and sew up your hole.

• Cut out various sizes and shapes of burrow holes out of dark felt.

• Arrange your burrows on the ground with some near and some further away and try to toss your bunny bean bags into the burrows.  We made a fox based on an old drawing of my son’s to hang on the wall, imagining the bunnies escaping their predator!

Purpose

• Learning how to sew, developing fine motor skills.
• Developing gross motor skills through play (tossing, working on aim towards a target etc.)

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care & supervision.
• Plastic pellets can be a choking hazard, be sure to keep them out of reach from children 0-3 years of age.
• A sewing machine is for adult use or depending on the age and abilities of your child,  with direct supervision and guidance.
• Be sure to wear a smock to prevent damage to your clothing from the paint and glue and use a craft tray to protect surfaces.