Saturday, October 30, 2010

Streamer Ball

This was a great gross motor activity, my arm is still sore from having to throw the ball in the air so many times! Both girls were utterly fascinated watching it fly through the air, although I think before we take it out again I will cut the tails shorter so it is easier for them to throw.

WE USED:

* old pair of stockings
* small plastic bag
* rice
* scissors
* something to use as a tail, such as ribbons or streamers. We used the tail from a kite that broke recently.

Fill your plastic bag with rice and tie it off so it is secure. Cut the legs from the stockings right at the top and place the bag of rice in the bottom of one of the legs.

Tie it off at the top so that you have a ball shape. Layer the second stocking leg over the top and tie off again, just to give the ball extra strength when it is thrown. Don't cut of the stocking lengths that are left at the top!

We covered the stocking ball with some fabric from our dress up box, but you don't need to. Attach your 'tail' with the band cut from the top of the stockings or a clip around the tied section.

The ball can be thrown by holding the loose stocking legs and using them to swing and launch it into the air. Because of the elastic nature of the stockings you'll be really surprised how high you can make it go!

Sorry for the dark photo, I couldnt get my camera settings right in the bright sun. This is our tail ball coming down, it looked amazing with the colourful tails streaming out behind it.


The ball going up.



3 comments:

  1. Wow that looks so fun! My son would go crazy for this!

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  2. Thanks Sarah! I didnt know if it was a bit weird actually, filling stockings with rice, but it worked so well I had to share it. I couldn't believe how high I could get it to go using the legs of the stockings!

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