Recommended Age: 3 years and onwards
Level of Parent Involvement: Low, this exercise is simple to set up and once the child has been shown they may do the exercise independently
Prerequisites
- The child must be able to roll a ball
Materials
- 10 plastic cups
- A soft ball
- A long hallway (or another space in your home where the child can comfortably roll the ball, at least 3 metres)
- Masking tape
Preparation
- Using the masking tape, make a triangle at the end of the hallway, large enough for the cups to fit as follows, 4 cups at the end, then 3 cups then 2 cups then 1 cup at the tip of the triangle, forming a pyramid with the cups
- Make a mark with masking tape to use as a guide for the child to stand at when they roll the ball (about 3 metres from the cups)
Steps
- Invite the child, letting them know you have a game to show them
- Show the child the cups and the ball, the child may choose which they would like to carry, take the child to the masking tape triangle
- Let the child know that they will be playing indoor bowling
- Show the child the masking tape triangle on the floor, asking the child “what shape is this?”
- Explain to the child that they will be using cups as pins, then show the child how to set up the cups in a pyramid formation
- Show the child the masking tape marker which indicates where to stand
- Take the ball and using an underarm motion, roll the ball towards the cups to knock over as many cups as you can
- Let the child know that if all of the cups are knocked out of the pyramid, it is called a ‘strike’
- Show the child how to place the cups back in the pyramid formation
- Invite the child to take the ball to the marker and have a turn
- Leave the child to play independently or take turns bowling
Variations
- An older child can keep track of how many cups are knocked down on each try, or how many tries it took to knock the pyramid over
- The child may throw rather than roll the ball
