We host and educate students from all over the country. One assignment that our students have is to create an activity that can be used with a child that he or she is working with. There are really only two requirements: 1) It has to cost $10.00 or less to make, and 2) it has to sustain and outlast our "testers"!
Danielle, our OT student, who "graduated" today, made us this Ping-Pong Ball Matching activity!
She provided several laminated pattern cards and a dozen painted ping-pong balls in a recycled egg carton! The kids have to maneuver and shuffle the balls around to match the pattern, hole by hole and row by row! This challenges many skills including: visual perceptual, visual motor, ocular motor and fine motor!
Now, that deserves an A, don't you think?!
Other ping-pong ball activities might include:
- Paint the balls different colors and have them simply match by color (using a pattern card)
- Build Snowmen or wreaths
- Write a sight word on each ball and have your child scoop out the ball from a bowl with an ice cream scooper
- Strengthen oral motor skills by blowing the ball with a straw across the room
- Place the balls in a bin full of water and have the children fish for them with nets
- Bounce them from the table into a target such as a bowl or a cup
Kids love balls, even if they're not bouncing them, so I found that kids find Miss. Danielle's activity to be super fun (and challenging)! Share how you've created fun-filled learning with ping-pong balls!
