Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Miss Danielle Earned A Straight "A" With Ping Pong Ball Matching!



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!