Do you notice your child showing interest in sports? Or developing a love for exerting energy? Or do you simply wish to limit their screen time and try to spend more time playing outdoors?

Though the pandemic has made it challenging for kids to enjoy extended hours for playtime with each other, it doesn’t mean you can’t teach them the love for sports. 

And what better way to do that than to introduce some of the best ball games for children. A ball game is one of the most effective ways of promoting a child’s early physical development

By playing ball games, preschoolers can take their gross-motor skills to the next level faster. But with a wide variety of options, which ones should you teach your child? We rounded up a few of our favorites

 

The simple ball game of...“make a basket”

For starters, this is one of the simplest yet productive games you can teach your child. Though this is not like any of your traditional outdoor ball games, your preschoolers can learn a lot from it.

The idea is to have your child shoot their toys — especially the balls — into a container. Maybe it’s a laundry basket, a tub with rope handles, or a storage container! The game will not only develop your child’s skills in shooting toy balls but also instill the habit of packing away after playing. Every parent’s dream, right?

 

Say and catch

If your children are already school age and they love playing word games on mobile devices, they can try playing “say and catch” as an excellent outdoor alternative. To begin, the children must agree on a category. They can choose categories like plants, animals, and food, among others. 

Once they’re outside, they need to arrange themselves to form a circle. Now comes the fun part! Pass the ball randomly around the circle — and each time a child catches the ball, they should say a word that belongs to the selected category.

Failing to come up with an answer in five seconds means you’re out! The children will keep on tossing the ball until only one winner is found.

Sidewalk targets 

This fun game requires  sidewalk chalk. So go digging for it in your toy bin! Once you’ve found it, go to your sidewalk and draw circles of different sizes.

The goal is to have your child bounce the ball into the circles. This will help develop their skills in throwing the ball. To add an element of excitement, come up with a story for the activity. You can tell your child that the circles are space monsters and they need to defeat them by hitting them with the ball!

 

Sticky spider ball newspapers

Though this game doesn’t use real balls, it doesn’t fall short as far as excitement goes. Get a piece of large cardboard and fill it up with some duct tape. However, you want to make sure to stick the duct tape in a criss crossing pattern.

This will leave certain areas of the cardboard free. Also, make sure to wrap the duct tape with the sticky side on the outside. 

Next, get some old newspapers and crumple them page by page. You want to crumple and turn them into newspaper balls.

Have your child stand at a certain distance and instruct them to throw the paper balls toward the cardboard!

 

Down down

This is one of our favorites to play with children! Form a circle and start throwing the ball around the circle. However, make sure to throw the ball without giving any cues regarding the person you want to pass it to. It’s all about being sneaky...

If the intended receivers fail to catch the ball, they should go down on one knee. On the second miss, they should go down on both. For the third miss, they should place one of their hands on their back. 

Miss the ball the fourth time and they’re out of the game! 

 

Ping pong ball battle

Going back to indoor ball games, the “ping pong ball battle” is one of the most exciting ones. Here, you’ll need some ping pong balls, straws or pencils, two paper cups, and paper. Did you get all that?

Next, find a stable table and tape the two paper cups one on each end. You want the cups on opposite sides of the table. The two players will have one straw or pencil and one ping pong ball each. 

The goal is for both players to shoot their ball into the other side’s paper cup (this may remind some parents of college...but no need to discuss that with your kids!). They will use a pencil or straw to push the ball to the other side. 

Things become more exciting because they’ll also have to keep the other player’s ball from going into their cup!

 

Flinch

Last but not least is “flinch,” which is another ball game for multiple players. You’ll need a soft ball to play this game. Select one player who will be “it.”

The other players will then line up against the wall. The perfect distance is about 8 feet from the player with the ball. Make sure the players who are against the wall are folding their arms.

The “it” will then throw the ball to a random player or fake the throw. If “it” makes a real throw and the player fails to catch the ball, that player will earn a letter (the first one being “F”).

If the “it” fakes a throw to a player and the latter flinches, that player will also earn a letter. The first player who completes all letters (F-L-I-N-C-H)and forms the word “flinch” will become the new “it.”

 

Let us guide you through your child’s development!

By introducing your children to a simple ball game, you’re nurturing their interest in youth sports and developing the way they interact with other children while keeping them physically active.

Want to play even more games with your children? Maybe hopscotch? Or even recess break ideas! We invite you to learn more about these developmental milestones through various activities. 

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