Help me give my students the opportunity to use balls to throw, catch, kick, and bounce as they work to release their energy, gain coordination and work together with peers.
I teach in a full day, mixed-age head start classroom. The children are aged 3-5 years and spend seven hours a day learning and growing together in my classroom. Head Start focuses on preparing children and families living in poverty with the guidance and support needed to help them get ready for kindergarten. Our children learn through play as they explore, create, and travel throughout the classroom. Part of our day is spent in large motor activity, either outside on the playground or in our gym (depending upon the weather).
Our energetic children are in search of ways to safely release that energy through active play and prepare them for other learning activities.
Often times our children have difficulty with self-regulation, controlling their actions, or just sitting still. The more active play experiences we offer the children the more likely they will be successful throughout their day.
The children love to read books, create in blocks, pretend in the dress up area, explore in the science area, and think mathematically, but these activities can be challenging when they don't have safe venues for releasing the energy.
My Project
Having foam balls for the children will help promote safety and eliminate the need to inflate the balls. Often times the balls deflate and are in need of air, making them unavailable for the children to use. The Rhino skinned balls will help us have the balls readily available for all kinds of weather, especially since we live in Wisconsin where half of our year is fairly cold and deflates the balls we currently use. The wheelbarrows will come in handy for children who need some "heavy work" to release the extra energy before focusing on other tasks.
Throwing, catching, and bouncing balls encourage cooperation with peers and enhance hand-eye coordination.
Children learn to interact and play together while strengthening muscles, gaining balance, increasing their large motor skills, and even learning new vocabulary.
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