Balls - no matter what size or colour they are, they have the ability to capture our little ones’ attention and curiosity. Perhaps it's because of the way they move? Or the fact that your little one is in control of where the ball goes?

Whatever the reason, balls provide endless amounts of fun and stimulation for children - young and old! One afternoon, we set up an indoor provocation with balls for our Under 2's as the weather wasn't so great. There was an inflatable pool filled with balls, as well as tubes and containers of different sizes. It was amazing to watch our little ones as some of them jumped right into the pool filled with balls, whilst others went straight towards the tubes. During their interactions, we could see problem-solving skills start to emerge as well as trial and error techniques.

Some of our little ones were curious to see what happened to the ball once they pushed it through the tube, while others were focused on lying amongst the balls and rolling different parts of their body on the balls - more of a sensory experience.

They were also interested in different ways they could make the ball move - such as rolling, throwing, kicking and bouncing. During this process our little ones develop their motor skills and when they are pushing and dropping the ball into the tube, they are strengthening their hand-eye coordination as well as exploring concepts such as speed and distance. This experience also helps them develop social skills as they had to share the balls and tubes amongst the group. It was amazing to watch our little ones explore and display a sense of wonder - with some of them really focused on the tube and what they could see through it. During experiences like this, our little ones are given the opportunity to discover and learn more about the complex world around them! 😊