One of my dear friends shared this idea with me as a way to engage the whole body while practicing something cognitive. She plays catch with her kids and with each toss practices states and capitals, but this morning we just stuck with the states…as in, “Can you name one?”
Sounds simple enough, but after this Superbowl my 6 year old thought that “New England” was a state.
I guess I can’t blame him.
We balled up a clean sock and headed to the living room where we started playing catch. With each toss the person throwing the sock had to name a state.
NOTE: Africa is not a state, either.
The point is, getting your child to work on the very basic concept of states vs. regions vs. continents can be fun and can be done in PJ’s before lunch.
Other ideas for catch:
- MATH: with each toss, say a number and an operation, taking turns solving the problem. (6 + 3 = 9…toss each time you say each of those parts)
- GEOGRAPHY: take a page out of my friend’s book and say a state, toss, then have your child catch and say the capital.
- HISTORY: if you’re into the Presidents of the US, toss the ball each time you say a name, reciting all 44 in order.
- SPELLING: say a word and with each toss, provide a letter to spell the word. OR, for older kids, say a letter without announcing the word, and have them add on until you’ve made a word together. See what you come up with!
- SCIENCE: practice the components of the table of elements, geological time periods in order, examples of animals going up and down the food chain.
- RANDOM: mom states a topic and tosses the ball. Each child who catches has to provide a fact about that topic.
- BIBLE VERSES: mom or dad recite a verse, toss the ball, and the child who catches it provides the book/chapter/verse. OR, in reverse, mom says the book/chapter/verse, and the child recites the passage.
- FOR VERY SMALL CHILDREN: say the alphabet with each toss. Mix it up and start somewhere in the middle to see if they can adjust. OR, do the same with counting: numbers, by 2′s, by 5′s, by 10′s.
The possibilities are endless! How can you see yourself using catch to make practice more fun at your house? I’d love your comment!
