In the After School 1 program at RisingOaks early Learning | St Nicholas, there was an interest in throwing a blue ball where a puzzle we had gotten in December came. The children gathered in a circle, and began throwing the ball, practicing catching and laughing together as they did so. If the ball would drop on the floor, it would break in half as it is a puzzle case, but they would quickly put it back together to keep the game going. They continued on with this interest from several days. Upon seeing this, the educators came up with a provocation that allowed for them to continue practicing throwing.
There were three buckets placed, two on the floor and one up higher. They each had points written on them; one, two, and five-point buckets. The children seemed curious as educator Janeth was setting up. “What are we going to do?” Theodore asked. Moyosola, Praise, Eliette came over seeming interested. “We are going to play a game.” Janeth explained. “Oh wow,” said Theodore. Janeth explained the concept of the game to the group. “Can I try?” Moyosola asked. “Of course, Theodore will go first, and we can all take turns.” “I have an idea,” Praise said, “I can make a list of who wants a turn.” Moyosola ran to get a piece of paper and Praise a marker. She asked who wanted a turn and got busy writing down the names. “I will also put the score beside their names after we count.” Gavin approached the area and looked interested in what Praise was saying.
Each child was given two minutes to throw in as many balls as they could, trying to get to their targets. Once the timer went off, we counted the balls in each bucket together. We had the opportunity to practice our counting by twos and counting by fives. This was a bit challenging for some so we problem solved by counting by one two times, or five times depending on the amount. Julian was excited for his turn. Once educator Janeth said, “Go,” his face changed showing great focus on getting a five-point shot. His peers all cheered for him when they saw he was able to score in the five-point bucket.
As children had their turns, Praise’s mom came to pick her up. Upon seeing this, Gavin said, “I will keep score now.” His focus and observations, allowed him to keep score in his own manner, sharing the scores with all around him. As children took their turn, they practiced hand eye coordination, having a common goal, they used their large muscles, supporting strength building and movement.
Participating in tossing games fosters social-emotional growth through turn-taking and teamwork, builds confidence, enhance visual perception, and promote overall fitness and health. They also got to practice math skills as we counted the number of balls in each bucket and added the points together. The educators were able to see the children’s wonder and positive social interactions with their peers, as they waited for their turns, cheered and helped each other by collecting the balls in a bucket for the next to have a turn, making the experience flow smoothly, while experiencing a sense of pride in their support and accomplishments.
We wonder if there are other toss games the children may show interest in, that will continue to support all of the practiced skills and more?
