Ball Basket

Ball Basket! Gather different sizes and textures of balls and let baby explore picking them up and rolling them. Some types of balls I used are ping pong balls, tennis balls, ball pit balls, and plastic and wool dryer balls. Yesterday, I paired this with the ball drop shoebox activity and had Norah try to see which balls fit through the hole! She was a bit confused by it, it was a little over her head, but it was a good learning experience and will be a fun activity when she is a little older! You can also cut several holes in your shoebox of different sizes (small, medium, large, for example) and have your older baby or toddler try to figure out which balls fit in which hole. This would also work with the ball drop canister!

Another great way to play with balls is practicing rolling them to baby and, if she is in the 10 months + range she may be able to roll the ball back! Demonstrate, and praise when she does roll the ball!

For a pre-sitting baby, put the balls in front of her during tummy time to let her explore touching them. Gently roll the ball in front of her and watch her move her eyes to track the ball. This is a great activity to enhance baby’s visual tracking skills, developing her vision.