My Obstacle Course Kit Item #8: Beach Ball or Balloon
I chose a beach ball or balloon to build gross motor skills involving ball play because they can deflate and fit perfectly into a kit. They are also colorful, light and float in the air a bit longer than a regular playground type ball, making them better for visual tracking and giving more time for motor planning. The fact that they don’t hurt when a catch is missed is a huge bonus!!
This is a classic example of not needing something fancy or expensive to engage with your child while also helping to build a wide range of gross motor skills.
Uses:
- catching
- passing
- kicking
- rolling
- bouncing
Combine either one with a dice or a spinner to determine how many of each to help children who are reluctant to do these things because they are challenging. I have even used blank dice programmed with the task so when he would roll one die, it would tell him what we were going to do (ex. catch, pass, kick, roll or bounce) and another die or set of dice to tell him how many times. This could also be done by creating task and number cards, having them face down and the child gets to flip over a card from each pile to see what to do and how many of each. Something simple like this takes minutes to prepare but adds fun while removing the “mom says” aspect. Andrew also does much better when he knows how many he is going to have to do and is very reluctant to participate when it comes to completing an unknown amount. Considering that I am the same way when it comes to working out, I don’t blame him one bit!!
Click here for my original post on Beach Ball Questions.
Engage, Encourage and Empower!