Snowball Toss

Its that time of the year and well...BRRRR it's cold outside.  In some areas, some of us have already seen some snow...maybe too much...while others aren't ever going to see any.  I put together a fun activity where my kiddos can play in the "snow", while practicing some of their other skills.

In the snowball toss, children will master:

• Gross motor skills such as running and throwing
• Fine motor skills such as grasping, pinching
• Aim of throwing
• Social skills such as turn taking, patience
• Counting
• Eye-hand coordination
• Imagination and pretending

This activity is so simple and versatile and you can add whatever you want to make it simple, more complicated, or even more fun!  

Here's what you will need:

• Socks, socks, and more socks.  The more socks the better.  I used socks that I had purchased at one time and didn't like.
• Baskets for throwing into.

First, take the socks and roll them up as tight as you can so they make a ball.  Honestly, my kiddos had more fun trying to unroll them at one point.  Once they are in a ball, it's time to throw them and have some fun!  

I placed a white laundry basket out because my kiddos are still younger so target shooting isn't something they are great at yet.  The older the child, though, the smaller the basket to help with those skills of eye-hand coordination.

Action shot - my son throwing a snowball

Another action shot of my daughter running around trying to catch the snowballs

Once we threw all the snowballs into the basket, I attempted to count them.  My kiddos, though, were too excited and wouldn't allow me.  They were picking them out before I could count them!

This was such a fun activity, that we do this almost daily.  Some days, we pretend to throw them at each other.  While some might frown upon that, my kids obviously don't have that much strength to throw something that hard, plus it helps to build their gross motor skills.

Any other variations that you do?  Please share!