We LOVE a wacky post inspiration here on the ClubX Blog, and this week it came from remembering this line from a 90s commercial for baked beans-
Cue nostalgic feelings! Beans are not only part of a healthy diet, they are a cheap and easy material for a wide range of activities, some of which we’ve rounded up here today. As a reminder in Link Roundup posts, I curate ideas that I think would work well in the Club setting, and are either free to access or minimal cost. You may need to modify to be developmentally-appropriate for your groups, and be sure to include all the elements of a high-quality program session, such as a warm welcome, community builder, and reflection.
Mosaics are an obvious choice, but I like how this activity builds in a step for planning out the image. Planning is a great skill to practice!
I could do a whole post of just bean mosaic ideas (feel free to peruse Pinterest!) but I had to share a second one because I LOVE THESE ANIMALS! This is a higher level of difficulty than the landscape idea.
Another art project that would pair nicely with an activity on identity or a read-aloud, these bean self portraits are fun. Make sure you have plenty of bean color options that would work best for your youth.
And if you’d prefer to dye the beans before using instead of painting over them, here’s a good tutorial.
This is posting near Easter, so jelly beans are easy to find in stores. There are free printables in this post, but the ads are confusing. Scroll about half-way down to the Free Printables section to get access (requires an email), or it looks easy enough to replicate in Canva.
This one does have a cost to get the handouts ($3.50), but it looks really interesting and could be applicable for a wide range of youth. I love that she includes a video walk-through and that the materials include reflections.
Here’s another STEM activity, this one more simple. You could turn it into a challenge, to create the tallest structure, or that is sturdy enough to hold the most weight.
The mini-book activity paired with the book The Cool Bean is a great way to kick-start a discussion with younger youth about being cool and kind. You do have to sign up with an email to get the template, but you could also just have this be a free-draw activity, or use a comic strip template.
You could also take inspiration from this activity, even if you don’t purchase.
If you have a culinary program, there are of course many many bean dishes to make. Chili or soup is an easy go-to, or you could pair it with a cultural activity and choose a bean recipe from a specific country or region (I immediately thought of all the different variations on beans and rice). I searched for Three Bean Salad and this is the one I personally am going to make next week just for myself 🙂 . The only “cooking” required is to roast peppers if you choose to do so.
And finally, our friends at Playworks have this list of activities to play with bean bags!
I hope these have BEAN some great ideas! 🙂
What are your favorite high-yield activities that use unconventional materials? How do you encourage learning while having fun? Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.
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