Ball Skills
Dinoduo love playing ball with their friends. Pre-schoolers love ball games, catching and throwing a ball, kicking a ball and hitting a ball with a bat. Like all movement skills, your child will develop these skills as they grow. As your child grows from toddler into pre-schooler they become more adept at ball skills. But, like all movement skills, the more opportunity they have to practice these skills, the better they become. Dinoduo would like to help all their preschool friends with their ball skills. This week, Dinoduo wants to get all their friends working on their underhand throw.
Underhand throw.
Have your child stand on a spot facing a target.
Give them a small foam ball or tennis ball.
Show them how to swing their dominant hand back with the ball and swing forwards, releasing the ball at waist height in front of their body.
If your child is unable to release the ball at the right time, help them by counting “ready, steady, throw”
As your child gets the hang of it, have them turn their shoulders as they swing the arm to throw the ball even further
As your child develops their underhand throwing skills, have them step forward with the opposite foot as they throw the ball forwards.
Something to Aim for
Give them a target to aim for, like a large box or hula hoop, or better still, let you become the target.
Measure the distance they throw and place a marker. Have your child throw further than the marker.
Bean bags or rolled up socks are great for practicing underhand throwing. Practice throwing a bean bag into a hula hoop or a box.
Remember, Dinoduo want you to MOVE
Model: show your child how to throw correctly
Opportunity: provide lots of it
Verbalise: give your child lots of clear instructions
Encourage: Lots of it.
Follow Dinoduo over the next few weeks as we work with you on developing your child’s ball skills.
Copyright Dinoduo 2019