We have a favorite family game that we have played for a few years with M&Ms and shake straws. The only problem with this game is that younger children do not have the lung strength to play. It was not until I visited my son’s kindergarten class that I learned an alternative. His teacher taught me a similar game that we could play at home that used beans and regular straws, which is easier for the younger children to use. Genius! We have been having a lot of fun with it over the past couple of weeks.

Supplies Needed

• Dried beans
• A cup for every person playing, or one for each team
• 1 straw for each player (regular sized straws)
• 1 die/dice (optional)
• 1 pie tin for the die to roll in (not pictured, but highly recommended to keep the die contained)
• 1 large bowl for the beans (especially helpful when playing with a large group, but not necessary for smaller groups)

Object

Using the straw, suck as many beans from the pile as possible before another player rolls a 3. Once all the beans are gone from the pile, the player with the most beans wins.

Rules

1. No touching anything other than the straw and your cup when sucking the beans up (i.e. do not have one hand holding the beans in place while trying to suck up the beans).
2. You must roll a 3 (or other chosen number) in order for your turn to start sucking up the beans with the straw.
3. The only way to transfer the beans from the bowl to your cup is by sucking with the straw. (NO HANDS!)

Directions

First, let the younger children playing get a chance to practice before the game begins.

Once you are ready to begin, pass around the pie tin with the die to the left. Each player rolls. The first player to get a 3 can start sucking beans with their straw.

The person to the left of the “Bean Sucker” then gets the die. Each player keeps passing the die along to the left until another player rolls a 3, and then it is that player’s turn and the current “Bean Sucker” stops sucking. The “Bean Sucker” does not roll the die while it is their turn to be snagging beans.

Keep repeating until all the beans are gone!

Once the game is over, it is fun to let everyone count their beans. A little practice never hurt anyone, right?

One of my favorite things about this game is the faces…

Love it!

This is not a fancy video, but if you are a visual person, this will help!