Skills: throwing, motor planning, core strength, balance,
hand/eye coordination
With all this snow, I have been thinking about fun ways to
bring the outdoors to an indoor recess activity. Snowball throwing would be
such a fun way to bring active learning to the classroom. You can make your own
snowballs out of yarn or buy soft, fluffy white balls.
(picture credit: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=snowball+fight&chips=q:snowball+fight,g_5:elf&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBjP2wxsvYAhXIk-AKHevCCF4Q4lYIMSgA&biw=1047&bih=481&dpr=1.3#imgrc=uAGcdy-CfVl3rM:)
How the game works:
Decide what academic skill you want
to address: math, color recognition, shape recognition, name recognition….the
list goes on and on!
Write the answers, names, colors,
shapes, etc. each on their own separate paper plate.
Attach the paper plates on 1 wall
in the classroom. Make sure to place them at various heights and spread them
out! They should take up a large space of the wall.
Place a tape line on the floor
about 3 feet away from the “wall of answers”.
Place all of your “snowballs” on
the floor in a pile behind the line or in a bucket.
Have students stand in a line
behind the “throwing line”.
Ask the first student in line to
answer the question. Once the question has been answered, have the student
squat to pick up the “snowball”. The student will then throw the snowball
attempting to hit the right answer.
This student then moves to the end
of the line and the next student takes their turn.
Variations of this activity:
You could have 2 lines and play in
teams to see who can hit the target first.
You could play in a seated circle
and toss the snowball to the student who requests a turn.
You could have students kneel to
throw, use ½ kneel to throw, or move the target farther back.
This is a fun game to play on cold days or just to get your
class moving!
Movement Matters- Whitney Carter PT, DPT
