Balls are a versatile resource and an essential part of continuous provision. Babies are mesmerised by the constant motion of these spherical objects, while toddlers delight in exploring their multisensory properties and engaging in active play – rolling, bouncing, tossing and kicking them. Pre-schoolers also enjoy sorting, matching and comparing collections of balls, helping to develop their early mathematical skills and understanding.
Balls are an ‘inexpensive and easily accessible’ play material, explains Alice Sharp, early years specialist and founder of The Early Learning Lab, a new digital training programme focused on unlocking the potential of simple play materials for rich and engaging play experiences.
‘They enhance children's motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination and timing, which are key components of toddlers’ developmental growth,’ she adds.
HEAD, HANDS AND HEART
Open-ended resources that engage the ‘head, hands and heart’ can lead to rich learning experiences, says Sharp, but often educators are not given enough time or support to understand the ‘skills, the value, the benefits and what and how to play with the materials’.
‘In-the-moment play can lead to less engagement from adults,’ she explains. ‘But by simplifying the play materials and getting back to basics, we aim to support educators to reflect on the learning potential of the resources and how they might be used. Hands-on experience of the materials helps them prepare ideas and consider the maths and language opportunities, which in turn gives them a better understanding of the vital role they play in shaping the learning and development of the children in their care. It also emphasises the importance of ensuring that child-led play does not equal abandonment.’
Taking the example of a ball and the concept of engaging the hands, head and heart, Sharp says, ‘Exploring the balls with our hands – multisensory stimulation – opens the kinaesthetic door to the brain. Cognition is sparked when we are visually stimulated by the colours and patterns of the ball, or if the ball makes a noise when manipulated. The heart is stimulated if we are hesitant, excited, eager, motivated (dispositions), which means that we are far more likely to remember the experience and learn from it.’
GROSS MOTOR
Offering a wide selection of balls in different sizes, shapes, textures and weights gives children the chance to practise a variety of skills. Throwing, catching, kicking and hitting balls helps strengthen children's arms, legs and core, which are essential foundations for developing the fine motor skills needed for writing. It also improves their ability to track moving objects and understand how far away things are, all of which are crucial for everyday tasks such as navigating spaces, using scissors, stacking blocks and reading and writing.
‘Large balls will take two hands to throw, which is an entirely different skill from throwing a small ball with one hand,’ explains Sharp.
Catching a ball starts with hugging the ball to the chest, so a bigger, softer ball is recommended. Practitioners may initially opt for a balloon or bean bag, as the slower movement through the air gives children more time to react and engage effectively.
Sharp says, ‘At 15 to 18 months old, children may attempt to throw a ball, although an overhead throw will come later, between the ages of two and three. It takes a lot of practice to become skilled at hand-eye co-ordination, reacting at speed, using all the gross motor skills needed to grab a flying ball and stay standing.’
Kicking a ball can also be difficult to master as it requires a significant level of balance and co-ordination.
FINE MOTOR
Manual dexterity – the ability to make co-ordinated hand and finger movements to grasp and manipulate objects – develops over time during early childhood. Newborns have no control over their hand and arm movements, but before long, they start to hold and grasp objects and, as the bones in their wrists eventually begin to harden, they will pick up small objects and enjoy bashing things together.
Placing a low basket of balls of different textures, sizes and weights near them when they can sit up unaided encourages them to reach, stretch and grasp objects.
‘These small, precise movements that babies and children make with hands, fingers, feet and toes involve the complex co-ordination of muscles, joints and nerves. They need to be practised over and over to keep them developing and for dexterity to blossom,’ Sharp says.
CASE STUDY: North Cornelly Community Playgroup in Bridgend, Wales
An abundance of balls is on offer at North Cornelly Community Playgroup to support children's all-round development. Rattan balls for loose-parts play, light-up balls in the dark den, air flow balls with holes in for weaving in the creative area, collections of sensory squeezy balls, textured pompoms, fidget popper balls, yoga balls for physical play and ping-pong balls in the water tray.
Manager Libby Leyshon says, ‘We've always had a lot of balls in the setting for children to use in their freely chosen play. They love kicking balls and taking part in our Mini-Ballers football skills sessions, which helps build up their core strength, balance and co-ordination. But our practitioners were recently inspired to take ball play to another level after receiving training from The Lab. We bought a variety of balls from Amazon, and the staff have got really involved in planning provocations and invitations to play with these simple, inexpensive resources, which have endless possibilities to enhance learning.
‘The giant pom-poms are great for sensory play. The children also love the smooth texture of the ping-pong balls. We practise rolling balls and catching them, starting with soft toys or pillows and bean bags that are easier to catch.
‘For Red Nose Day, the staff planned an activity where the children pick up red squidgy balls floating in water with spoons and tongs. This supports fine motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination and speech and language as they talk bilingually in Welsh and English.
‘Tube-rolling is another great activity for collaborative play. When rolling the balls down the tubes, they talk about which goes faster and which is heavier. When one doesn't fit; they work together to find a smaller one or tilt the tube to the right angle until it rolls down. The balls particularly lend themselves to maths concepts. And the training really helped to cement our learning around this, using words such as “subitising”, which is when children are able to visually recognise a quantity of five or less. This really opened up our thinking and led to many more language-enriching conversations.
‘Outdoors, the children have plenty of space to kick, throw and use their whole bodies to engage in ball skills, and we encourage them to build up their core strength and stamina through physical activities. The children who are not quite at the stage of having a mature pincer grip or tripod grasp have mastered it by the end of the first term because of the opportunities on offer to practise these skills.’
Suggested resources
- Multisensory: Hope's edushape Sensory Mini Balls – Boho Chic, £18.99, are easy to handle for small hands and great for bouncing. Watch the bubbles sparkle and pop out of the mesh as you squash the Confetti Squish Ball, £3.99 from Hope. Or try Muddy Faces' Wooden Balls, 10pk, £10.99.
- Reflective: Roll, shake or spin tickit's Sensory Reflective Colour Mystery Balls, £24.99, to find out if the ball wobbles, shakes or spins. Or try TTS's Sensory Reflective Sound Balls, £49.99.
- Light-up: tickit's Large Textured Sensory Flashing Ball Set of 4, £19.99, are great for cause-and-effect and throw-and-catch games. Or TTS's Light Up Tactile Glow Spheres, £87.99, engage interest through tactile stimulation and visual excitement.
- Fine and gross motor: BendiBeads Rainbow from TTS, £68.39, are great for improving dexterity and hand-eye co-ordination as children manipulate the strands. For size comparison, ordering, pattern making and tweezing, try Cosy's Feltalas Bowls and Balls, £23.99. Yellow Door's engaging Roll Around, Feel Calm rollers, £15, help support feelings of calm and wellbeing in addition to improving fine motor skills. For physical activities, try TTS's Foam Ball Mega Class 66pk, £299.99.
FURTHER INFORMATION
- The Early Learning Lab: www.alicesharptraining.co.uk/lab
