Materials
Small riding toy (from home)
White spray paint (adult only)
Grassy area
Poster board
Paint and brushes
Paint sticks
Tape
Instructions
1. Put all of the balls in a basket. Ask the children to sit in a group at the edge of
the playing area. Explain that you are going to scatter the balls all around and
at the signal, the children should try to get all the balls back into the basket as
quickly as possible. The only rule is that they can only carry one ball at a
time. Therefore, they must run and retrieve one ball, and then run back and
toss it in the basket before going to get another one.
2. Once the children understand what to do, begin scattering the balls. Toss the
balls in every direction from the basket. Tell the children not to move until
you give the signal!
3. Once you have sufficiently scattered the balls, give the signal and the children
will take off after the balls. Children love this game and will play it many
times in a row before they start to get bored.
4. When the children understand the game well, pick two children to scatter the
balls and give the signal to the other children.
5. One fun variation is for the teacher to keep throwing the balls out of the basket
while the children are busy tossing them back in. The game ends when
the children get all (or most) of the balls in the basket and the teacher gives
up!
More to do
Instead of balls, use items related to the theme or season, such as plastic Easter
eggs, pinecones, balled-up paper "snowballs," and so on. Compare and contrast
all the different balls you use in the game. Which is the biggest and which is the
smallest? Which ones are soft and which are hard? Which ones bounce?
