Yes, I talked hubby into letting me buy TWO packages of these Step 2 Activity Balls! That's 300 colorful bouncing balls in our house. Sometimes they are well contained in their bags (although watch out, the zipper almost immediately broke on one bag! Sometimes they are not...!
But we are having a blast with them! Here's five ball activities for kids we've tried so far, and our toddler loves them all! He also loves to have his trucks load and dump them from place to place.
5 Ball Activities for Kids
Counting to 5. Using numbered buckets, our son put the correct number of balls into each bucket. Counting as he put them in; counting as he took them out! The oversized 5 gallon pickle buckets were a hit for him to reach into (and get into! as you can see!).
Pouring piles of balls from one bucket to another was a clattery, noisy fun. Again, an oversized way to practice gross motor skills of filling and spilling!
Sorting into color groups is a valuable activity for toddlers. Learning similarities and differences is one of the most important learning skills for children as it supports their future learning! Here, the five buckets became sorters instead of counters! You'll notice that in addition to the numbers, I also used different color dots on the containers.
We also did a simple ball toss activity here. I just called out the numbers on the buckets, and he tried to throw a ball into the correct bucket. Number recognition as well as eye-hand coordination.
Of course, no day with activity balls would be complete without a ball pit, right? I used our Joovy Moon room to create a fun, roll-around ball pit for my son and his baby brother. They had a blast!
Colorful, wonderful fun! Can't wait to see what else we can use them for! I might have to do a second post!
Psst! Like this post? Please pin it! Thank you!
Are you using a pack n play for a ball pit? Love it! I definitely need to get some of these balls for my house. Amazon here I come . . .
Are you using a pack n play for a ball pit? Love it! I definitely need to get some of these balls for my house. Amazon here I come . . .
Great ideas. I have yet to meet a kid that does not like ball pits or anything that cannot be done with these types of balls. Wait until A encounters a foam pit. The kids have one at gymnastics and are obsessed. Love the photos of the boys.
Great ideas. I have yet to meet a kid that does not like ball pits or anything that cannot be done with these types of balls. Wait until A encounters a foam pit. The kids have one at gymnastics and are obsessed. Love the photos of the boys.
Fantastic ideas! We have those for playing in the kiddie pool and outdoor play tent; but I never thought about bringing them in for activities! I love the color sorting in the buckets.
Fantastic ideas! We have those for playing in the kiddie pool and outdoor play tent; but I never thought about bringing them in for activities! I love the color sorting in the buckets.
These are some fabulous ideas!! We may try this sometime this week, with the "deep freeze" coming we are hibernating!
These are some fabulous ideas!! We may try this sometime this week, with the "deep freeze" coming we are hibernating!
Courtney is so right!
Courtney is so right!
You are the nicest mom EVER! You couldn't PAY me to buy those balls! ha ha ha!
Pinned! So fun! 🙂
You are the nicest mom EVER! You couldn't PAY me to buy those balls! ha ha ha!
Pinned! So fun! 🙂
LOVE the ball pit idea. Thanks!!
LOVE the ball pit idea. Thanks!!