Ball - OTPlan

Moving Target Delivery

Steps:

Adult Prep: Use masking tape to secure the paper cup firmly onto the outside of the large ball. This cup is the moving target.
Place the buttons in the container nearby. Set the moving target ball on the floor in a clear, open space.
Ask your child to pick up one button using a strong pincer grasp (thumb and pointer finger).
Gently roll or move the ball slowly across the floor. Encourage your child to walk or squat as they follow the target.
Challenge your child to aim carefully and drop the button into the narrow opening of the paper cup while the ball is moving slowly.
Repeat the process: pick up a button, chase the moving target, and deposit the item inside. Encourage them to try different body positions, like kneeling or squatting, while aiming.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Buttons are small, hard objects and pose a choking hazard. Ensure the playing area is clear to prevent tripping while the child moves with the ball.

Laundry Basket Skee-Ball

roll a sock ball up the cardboard ramp, aiming for one of the baskets. This action requires good hand-eye coordination and control of force.

This activity is a fun, physically engaging game that helps children practice controlling their body movements and aiming. By rolling sock “balls” up a ramp into baskets of different distances, they learn to adjust the force of their throws to reach a specific target.

Create the Ramp: Lean a piece of sturdy cardboard or a couch cushion against a laundry basket to create a ramp.

Set up the Targets: Place 2-3 additional laundry baskets or boxes in a line behind the ramp basket, each one a little farther away.

Assign Point Values (Optional): Write point values on pieces of paper (e.g., “10” for the closest, “25” for the middle, “50” for the farthest) and tape them to the front of each basket.

Mark the Start Line: Use a piece of tape to mark a starting line on the floor a few feet in front of the ramp.

Prepare the “Balls”: Roll up several pairs of socks to create soft, safe balls.

Play the Game: The player stands behind the tape line and tries to roll the sock balls up the ramp and into the baskets.

Keep Score: After rolling all the socks, tally up the points from the baskets they landed in. You can play multiple rounds and try to beat your high score!

Crumple Pin Bowling

Steps:

Build the ‘Crumple Pins’: Give the child 6 to 10 paper rolls (like toilet paper or paper towel rolls). Encourage them to use both hands to crumple each roll tightly into a dense, firm ‘pin’ shape. Secure each crumpled shape firmly with small pieces of masking tape to ensure they hold their structure.
Set up the Lane: Use masking tape to mark a ‘foul line’ on the floor. Arrange the crumpled pins in a triangle formation 5 to 10 feet away from the line (adjust distance based on space and skill level).
Bowl: Challenge the child to stand behind the line and roll the ball toward the pins, focusing on aiming and grading the force of their roll to knock down as many pins as possible.
Score and Reset: Count how many pins were knocked down. Encourage the child to reset the pins (sequencing and motor planning) before taking their next turn.

Safety Tip:
Ensure the bowling area is clear of furniture, toys, and other trip hazards. Encourage children to reset the pins safely without rushing or running.

Shoulder Strength Leopard Crawl

The leopard crawl is a military type-specific crawl that can increase shoulder strength by using the shoulder muscles to move forward.

Place an empty bucket at one side of the room and give the child a few small size balls (tennis balls, ping pong balls, cotton balls, etc.).

Ask the child to hold one ball in each hand while on his tummy and do a leopard crawl towards the empty bucket. The route to the bucket can go under a table, inside a tunnel, under chairs, or other obstacles for grading.

When the child reaches the bucket, ask the child to put the balls in it and crawl back to the start.

For proper crawl ensure the child is advancing an arm/elbow with the diagonal knee. When an elbow is placed forward, the diagonal knee is also placed forward, and then alternated with the other elbow and knee.

A Day at the Beach Obstacle Course

Place towels, sunscreen, hat, ball, bucket, and pail & shovel at one end of the room, or play area.

Place the beach bag/basket on the other end.

Using the tape, mark a trail from the items to the beach bag.

Place the chair, step stool, and pillows (covered with the blanket) along the trail you marked.

Ask the child to transfer one item at a time and place it in the beach bag, following the trail, by crawling under the chair, walking up and down the step-stool (you can also put more than one and have the child go up and down several times), and walking on the blanket-covered pillows.