Hanging Ball

I have a soft ball hanging from the ceiling to encourage hand-eye-coordination for my Pre-Schooler. With varying degrees of success, she strikes it with her dominant hand and anticipates its return. She concentrates on the task of hitting the ball for several minutes and then returns to whatever she was doing.

With each session, she is experimenting with the position of her body in relation to the ball, she is improving on her ability to track the ball, and I have recently noticed that a 'back swing' is beginning to appear. The feedback from each session is used to improve upon her attempts. Occasionally, I provide some verbal cues to assist her but for this age and stage, the fun is in trying to hit the ball.

My Toddler son also enjoys using the Hanging Ball. Although, at 18 months of age, it is fun to just run into it.

I made my Hanging Ball by re-purposing a pair of stockings and pages of newspaper scrunched into a ball. The newspaper ball (tennis ball size) is placed inside the toe of the stocking and tied off with twine. Sometimes I put stickers on it or draw faces.

Having the Hanging Ball ready to go allows for frequent short periods of practice.