Supplies
- Ball pit balls (or lots of other small, lightweight balls)
- Large plastic serving bowls
Instructions
Combine the serving bowls with the balls and let experimentation begin!
- Scoop balls into the bowls and toss them into the air. (My toddlers loved watching them drop.)
- Dump bowls of balls onto each other’s heads!
- Demonstrate how to put one ball in a bowl and spin it around very quickly using slight hand movements. Centripetal force = early science learning!
- Line up the bowls on an elevated surface (coffee table, ottoman, TV stand). Put one ball in the first bowl, two balls in the second, and so on. Count aloud as you go.
- Do a color game! You place one ball of each color in a bowl. Encourage your kids to help your sort balls accordingly.
- Dump a large pile of balls at one end of the hall. Encourage your kids to scoop balls into the bowls (challenge mode: no hands!) and run or relay-race the contents to the opposite end of the hall. To make this harder for older kids, blindfold the scooper and pair him with an instruction-giver who can see but can’t touch.
Find More Ideas
Go back to Sensory Play.