Fun with a beach ball
1. Beach Ball Bowling
- Use a laundry basket or cardboard box on its side and try rolling the beach ball across the floor and make it inside the target. How far away can you be and still make it?
2. Water Gun Race
- Go outside! This works best with a few friends. Each of you use a water gun and shoot the beach ball to move it across the lawn. How fast can you make it roll?
3. Tandem Ball Walk
- Find a friend and go back to back. Place the beach ball between your backs and link arms behind you. Then walk across the room, making sure you don’t drop the ball. You can race other pairs and see who is the fastest.
4. Clapping Contest
- With a friend, take turns tossing the ball to each other. In between each toss, see how many times you can clap your hands before catching it. Start with one clap then increase to two and so on. The person who doesn’t drop the ball, wins!
5. Waddle Walk
- Put the beach ball between your knees and walk across the room. See how long it takes without dropping the ball. Whoever does it the fastest wins!
6. Beach Ball Hockey
- Make goals using cones and then use foam noodles or pillows to hit the beach ball into the goals. You can do this by yourself or against a team of friends.
7. Dodge Ball
- Beach Ball Dodge Ball is a great way to play, pain-free!
8. Letter/Word Recognition Game
- Write different letters, words or numbers on the ball then toss it around. Each time someone catches it, they have to identify what is written underneath their hand.
9. Action Play
- Write different action commands on the beach ball, such as: “D is for Dancing” and “J is for Jumping.” Toss the ball around and when someone catches the ball, they must do the action found underneath their hand.
10. Beach Ball Toss
- With a friend, hold the corners of a towel to create a hammock. Then place the beach ball inside the hammock. Together, coordinate your actions so you toss the ball. See how far you can throw it. Then have someone throw the ball to your team and see if you can catch it in your towel. If you have several friends, you could play a version of volleyball this way.
11. Hula Hoop Basketball
- Place hula hoops around the yard, then take turns tossing or rolling the beach ball to see if you can land it in the hoops. Award points for each hoop.
12. Math Practice
- Write math problems all over the beach ball then toss it around. You must solve whatever equation is underneath your hand when you catch it.
13. Beach Ball Motor Skills
- Use chalk and write different actions on the sidewalk, inside of squares. These kind be things like: bounce, catch with 2 hands, throw, catch with 1 hand, push with your hands, kick, drop and catch, slide with the side of your foot. Then toss a rock at the actions. Whichever action the rock lands on, you must complete.
14. Hot Beach Ball
- Sit in a circle with friends and pass the beach ball around as music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the ball is out. The last remaining player wins!
15. Crab Soccer
- With your friends, play soccer with the beach ball, but you must stay on the ground with your hands placed on the ground behind you, walking like a crab.
16. Beat the Slide
- Roll the beach ball down a slide. See if you can catch it before it reaches the bottom and hits the ground.
17. Bouncy Ball
- Dribble the beach ball like a basketball. How many times can you bounce it without losing control?
18. Follow the Line
- Draw a line on the sidewalk with chalk or inside on the floor with painter’s tape. Without using your hands, see if you can roll the ball along the line without going off of it.
19. On Target
- Hang up several Post-it-notes on a door. On each note, write a word, letter, number or math equation. Have a parent call out what is written on one of the notes and then the player must find that note and throw the ball it it, hitting the correct note.
20. Indoor bowling
- Use empty soda bottles as bowling pins and roll the beach ball to see how many bottles you can knock over at a time. Write a number on each bottle and add up the numbers that have fallen after each throw.
21. Tee Ball
- Place the beach ball on top of a cone and play tee ball, hitting the beach ball with a bat or broom.
22. Obstacle Course
- Create an obstacle course where you have to move the beach ball through, going over, under, through and around the obstacles. Can you complete it with just your feet? See if you can improve your time.
23. Solo Volleyball
- By yourself, hit the beach ball against a wall and see if you can keep it from hitting the ground.
24. Spoon Relay Race
- Take turns racing across the lawn, around a chair and back while balancing the beach ball on a wooden spoon.
25. Beach ball categories
- Write different categories onto the beach ball and take turns throwing the beach ball around in a circle. When a player catches the ball, they must name something that fits the category found underneath their right hand. But you can’t name something that has been named before. Categories can include: states, ice cream flavors, cars, tv shows, animals, cartoons, movies, candy, cartoons, colors, famous people, presidents, cities, countries, etc.