Make-It Topics: Balls

Bounce the Ball

(Tune: "The Mulberry Bush")
This is the way we bounce the ball,
Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
This is the way we bounce the ball,
Across the kitchen floor.

 

Bouncing Ball

I'm bouncing, bouncing everywhere.
(Suit bouncing to the words.)
I bounce and bounce into the air.
I'm bouncing, bouncing like a ball.
I bounce and bounce until I fall.
(Drop to the floor.)

 

Little Ball

A little ball, (Make a circle with your fingers.)
A bigger ball, (Make a circle with your hands.)
A great big ball I see. (Make a circle with your arms.)

Are you ready to count them?

One, (Make a circle with your fingers.)
Two, (Make a circle with your hands.)
Three. (Make a circle with your arms.)

Roll the Ball

(Tune: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")
Roll, roll, roll the ball,
Roll it right to me.
Then I'll roll it back to you,
As quick as one, two, three.

 

Pop, Goes the Bubble

(Tune: "The Mulberry Bush")
Soap and water can be mixed,
To make a bubble solution.
Carefully blow,
Now, watch it go!
Pop! Goes the bubble!

Can You Blow a Big Bubble?

(Tune: "The Muffin Man")
Can you blow a big bubble?
A big bubble, a big bubble?
Can you blow a big bubble,
With your bubble wand?

 

I'm a Little Bubble

(Tune: "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little bubble, shiny and round.
I gently float down to the ground.
The wind lifts me up and then I drop,
Down to the dry ground where I pop.

 

Ten Little Bubbles

(Tune: "Ten Little Indians")
One little, two little, three little bubbles,
Four little, five little, six little bubbles,
Steve little, eight little, Nine little bubbles,
Ten bubbles floating to the ground.

Here's a Bubble

(Tune: "Frere Jacques")
Here's a bubble, here's a bubble,
Big and round; big and round.
See it floating gently,
See it floating gently,
To the ground; to the ground.

 

Draw a Bubble

Draw a bubble, draw a bubble.
Make it very round.
(Make a shape in the air with index finger.)
Draw a bubble, draw a bubble.
No corners can be found. (Repeat actions.)

 

Imaginative Play:

• Set up a toy store, and "sell" balls and bubbles (empty containers) and wants in it.

Table Top/Conceptual:

• Create lazing toys with ball shapes cut from light cardboard.
• Draw a variety of ball shapes, and then cut into puzzles.
• Match different sizes of balls to different sizes of containers or tubes.
• Sort balls by type, color or texture.
• Cut a variety of bubbles from felt or construction paper. Arrange in order of size.
• Sort a collection of bubble wands by color or size.

Field Trip:

• Take a bubble solution with you on a walk, and blow bubbles about the neighborhood.
• Roll balls down the slides at the playground
• Visit a store to see how many types of balls there are for sale.

Art:

• Dip soft balls in paint and make prints on paper.
• Create balls or bubbles with play dough.
• Create bubble prints by blowing into a paint/bubble solution through a straw until the solution overflows the container onto the paper that the container is sitting on.
• Create a collage of balls from catalogs or toy store flyers.

Gross Motor:

• Pretend to be bubbles. Act out being a bubble blowing in the wind, and then popping.
• Blow bubbles as the children run about and pop the bubbles.
• Toss balls into a basket.
• "Bounce" together as balls.
• Roll down a hill, pretending to be a ball.
• Sit in a circle and take turns rolling the ball to each other.

Sand/Water:

• Add various types of dishes and utensils to soapy water for the children to wash.
• Bath dolls in soapy water.
• Create air bubbles in the water by blowing through straws, or by squeezing turkey basters in it.

Science:

• Experiment with different gadgets to see which ones work to blow bubbles; i.e. berry baskets, funnels, six-pack holders, and slotted spoons.
• Examine the air bubbles in a piece of bread, Swiss cheese, and carbonated drinks.
• Roll balls down ramps.
• Examine the different textures of a collection of balls.

Blocks:

• Add empty bubble containers for building with.
• Create a maze with blocks to roll balls through. Add balls and tubes of various sizes.