Playing Catch
Episode # 109. Pile of Balls
In a big rectangular box, the children give the Storypeople a pile of blue, yellow, and red balls. How many can Mr. Man hold without dropping them? The children give him a wheelbarrow to help carry the load. What else could he use to carry the balls?

Directions
Using a soft, large ball (e.g., a beach ball or soccer ball), play catch with your child. Encourage her to make up special rules to the game, e.g., when a person misses she needs to spin around one time.

Then do a science experiment. Take the ball outdoors and have your child throw the ball up in the air as hard as she can. Mark where the ball comes down. How far away is the ball from where your child stood to throw it? Now give your child the ball again and tell her to throw it again, but this time, more softly. Ask her to predict if the ball will land farther away or closer to her than when she threw hard. Invite her to continue the experiment using different levels of force and direction. How can she get the ball to go the farthest? By the end of the experiment she should understand that the harder she throws (i.e., the more force she uses), the farther the ball will go.

Talk About It
While viewing the Pile of Balls episode, you might start a conversation by asking your child: If you were in Storyworld, how would you help Mr. Man move the balls? What games do you know that use a ball? What would you do if you had a ball right now?

As you talk about the things on screen, you can help expand your child's vocabulary by alternating the words you use with their synonyms. In the Pile of Balls episode, you could say that Mr. Man is moving balls or spheres.