Activity: Partner Towel Toss and Catch
Build important social and emotional skills by providing opportunities for your child to interact and play fun games with one or many friends.
Materials:
- balls of different sizes
- bath towel (one per person)
- optional: music
Directions:
Have friends (partners) stand close enough to each other that they can easily toss and catch different size balls using a bath towel. Each time partners make a catch, have them take a step back to toss and catch again. For a challenge, change balls and speed up the tossing. This fun game can be played with multiple friends and really makes a great outdoor activity.
Talk about It: Talk how it feels to play with someone that doesn't share or cooperate. Then ask your child (and friends) to share how it feels to play with friends that are considerate of everyone's feelings during playtime, and why having a good attitude around others makes playtime much more fun.
Take it Further: Playing with a "threesome" can be challenging at times, especially for young children. Encourage friends to take turns during play to make everyone feel special and welcomed. Use these fun and simple ideas to build social skills when your child's playing in a group:
- Make a game out of counting ball bounces then pass the ball.
- Take turns drawing a name out of a hat to choose which cartoons to watch or books to read.
- Encourage children make a cooperative decision by considering everyone's ideas.
With a Group: Create a cobweb of creative expression by using yarn and language! Have group sit in a circle. Hand one person a roll of yarn. Start by saying, "My name is __________ "(child speaks name then passes yarn to another person across the circle). Keep going until every child has spoken their name. Then begin another statement: I like to play ____________, etc. Keep going until all the yarn is used up. It's a fun way to encourage language, taking turns, and cooperative play with friends! To wind yarn up, keep speaking, but reverse the direction of the yarn.
