Throwing and catching help develop a wide range of basic
motor, sensory and vision skills and are a favorite among
children.
When playing with young children, avoid hard balls which can
hurt, such as golf balls, cricket balls and kadurei
pele or super-bounce rubber balls. You can start with
soft sponge balls and then progess to light inflated plastic
balls of all sizes. Small children get a special `kick' out
of playing with large balls.
Even very small children can enjoy sitting on the floor,
rolling a ball to you and trapping it between their legs
when you roll it back. Small children can learn to throw the
ball to you and then catch it when you gently throw it back.
At first, he should use two hands. Then let him try catching
and throwing with one hand -- first his dominant, dextrous
hand and then, when he is proficient, his other hand.
Always start close and then slowly back up further away,
increasing the distance to throw. When the child has learned
to catch the ball, you can teach him to throw the ball up
and catch it himself. First he can use both hands and then
only one hand.
It is nice to play with balloons, but be ready for the "big
bang." Regular balls tend to bounce out of the hands of a
young child because his reflexes are not developed fully and
at first, he has not yet learned to close his hands fast
enough to catch the ball before it bounces out of his hand.
So, instead of a ball, you can get or make bean bags or the
equivalent, which do not bounce at all.
The classic bean bag is made by sewing a bag, filling it
with small beans and then sewing the bag closed. An easier
alternative is to get a strong balloon and fill it with
rice. Preferably, use two balloons, putting one inside the
other before you start to fill the inner one. But be ready
for the shower of rice when the balloon eventually
bursts.
The flight of regular balls is predictable, but you can make
a wobbly ball which has built-in instability so that when
you throw it, it does not behave predictably. This
introduces an element of surprise, which can challenge the
skills of even older children and adults. The wobbly ball
improves coordination skills and confidence and is good
fun.
A simple way to make a wobbly ball is to put some water in a
balloon and then partially inflate it. As you throw the
balloon, the water swishes around in the balloon and moves
it off course. (When you inflate the balloon, be careful it
doesn't blow back into your mouth.)
Instead of water, you can put some rice or even a super-
bounce ball into the balloon and then partially inflate it,
being wary of "blow-back."
You can make a wobbly bag by taking a strong plastic freezer
bag and filling it about a third with water. Then push out
all the air and knot the bag as close to the end as
possible. The bag wobbles and moves all over the place as
you try to pick it up and it is quite a challenge even to
hold it still.
[Not to forget the plastic "flying saucers" for short- and
long-range throwing and catching.]
