Activity # 3: Ball roll obstacle course

Description: Set up an obstacle course outdoors or in the house if you feel ok with it. Have your child roll a ball through all of the obstacles to add variation and work on ball skills. We used the following obstacles: roll the ball around pylons, through a tunnel, under a table, throw it into a bin, roll the ball over the couch and down a pillow slide, roll a die and bounce it that many times onto a wall and roll it around the shape of square
Age: 3 and up, younger children may have trouble following the directions
Purpose:
Gross motor,
Ball skills,
Sequencing.
Prep time: moderate for set up
What you’ll need: pylons (but any marker will do), painters tape to put directions on the floor and outline the square, large bouncy balls, a bin or basket to thrown the ball into, tunnel, pillows or foam mattress for the kids to roll on. You can make modifications to the stations if you don’t have some of these things, or if you’re uncomfortable with the kids climbing on your couch.
Fun Factor: Obstacle courses are always a big hit with the kids, especially climbing over couches. This one didn’t sustain their attention as long as I had hoped. This is probably because we do a lot of obstacle courses (and it was close to snack time). However, my child said it was the favourite part of the day.
Tip: Often, I have the kids help me set up the course by labelling the stations on the floor. It keeps them busy while I’m setting things it up and helps to work on their penmanship and spelling.