Catching a ball can be diff cult for a child just learning eye - hand coordination.
Catching a falling scarf, which moves so much more slower than a ball, is a better way to practice catching.
G OA L S
· Eye- hand coordination
· Playing with a partner
· Back- and- forth exchange
· Vocabulary
· Visual and proprioceptive stimulation
M AT E R I A L S
· Scarf
S E T U P
Sit directly in front of a child and toss the scarf up. Catch it and say, “ I caught it. ” Do this several times.
D I R E C T I O N S
Toss the scarf up in the air again and ask the child to catch it. When she/he catches it, say, “ You caught it! ”
Start by keeping the tosses low so that the scarf always stays in view as it floats down. Later, toss higher so that the child has to follow the scarf by looking up. Work toward tossing the scarf back and forth between you. Let her/him also experiment with tossing the scarf to herself/himself.
V A R I AT I O N S
1. Rather than catching the scarf, let it float gently down into waiting hands.
2. Play the game standing and encourage jumping up to get the scarf while it is still overhead.
W H AT I S B E I N G L E A R N E D
Children are learning about timing as well as eye - hand coordination. They have to attend to the trajectory of the falling scarf and figure out when it ’ s the right moment to catch in order to be successful. Later, they will transfer that awareness and timing to catching a ball.
They are experiencing a back - and - forth exchange with another as a form of taking turns. First they have a turn to catch and then a turn to toss.
M O D I F I C AT I O N S
For the child who gets distracted, use verbal cues to keep the child focused on the scarf. Remember to start low so that, at first, the scarf is always close to the child ’s eye level. If needed, have another adult sitting behind the child to do a hand - over - hand approach to help catch the scarf.
For the child who takes longer to process instructions, keep the verbal instructions simple, such as “ Catch scarf ” and “ Toss scarf. ”
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