You will need: Balls of different sizes, shapes and weights e.g. tennis, soccer, rugby, basketball, ping pong etc Time and space

You can:

• Allow space to kick, throw, pass, catch, toss, bat, bowl, sit on the ball
• Make up rules for the ‘game’ to suit the age of your child
• Have fun

You can also:

• Get balls of different textures and weights – blow-up beach balls are light
• Hit balls with bats
• Play backyard cricket with a bat, a tennis ball and a box for the wickets
• Blow up a balloon and see how long your child can keep it in the air by gently batting the balloon. Toddlers can safely develop catching skills with balloons
• Put up a basketball hoop (down low) to practice hoops
• Blow ping pong balls with a straw (table top soccer)

Did you know:

Blowing ping-pong balls with a straw teaches your child to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. The hairs in the nose filter out the germs.

The dollar shops have a variety of different balls for as little as $2.

What your child is learning:

• Hand-eye coordination
• Foot-eye coordination
• Left and right brain development which is necessary for reading, writing and maths