Play Ball! Benefits of Ball Play

It’s no surprise that ball play is always a favorite in Kindermusik class! Children of all ages love exploring developmentally-appropriate balls like jingling chime balls, squishy sensory balls, and even mini beach balls! We roll them, bounce them, spin them, shake them, sit on them, toss them, and catch them.

Why ball play? In Kindermusik, we nurture the development of the whole child, not just musical skills. And ball play is perfect for building many cognitive and physical skills.

As children roll and bounce and toss a ball around, we label these movements through song:

"Bounce that ball right down to town..." or 

"Keep the ball a-rolling..."

As we label these movements, children are exposed to new words that describe movement, direction, speed, and position. This multi-sensory exposure to these words and concepts develops their receptive and expressive vocabulary, and cements understanding. 

The physical act of grasping a ball and rolling or tossing it also strengthens gross and fine motor skills. When your child rolls or tosses a ball to you, they are exercising their motor planning as well as motor grading - how much force needs to be applied to propel the ball to you. And, catching a ball requires sophisticated hand-eye coordination.

Preschoolers enjoy rolling a ball back and forth to each other. This process doesn't just exercise motor skills; it also builds important social skills like taking turns and the back-and-forth nature of conversation.

So go ahead, play ball!