Ball Study

This week, we started our new study, “Balls.” To introduce our new study, I asked the students a question, “What’s inside the box?” I had placed a ball into a box and had the boys and girls try and guess what was inside. While they took turns shaking the box, I gave them some clues. What rhymes with fall? What can you bounce? What can you throw? The children guessed a ball.

In order for children to develop the knowledge needed for later formal learning, they need frequent practice with materials in play settings. One of our favorite activities is our estimation jar. The students had to estimate how many balls were in the jar. We recorded our answers and counted to see how many balls we had. Afterwards, we classified them by color and made an A/B pattern too. Everyone had fun, but little did they know we were also learning.

Painting with balls is a fun way to combine process art and science with our kids. There is no set way to make a ball painting. We used two different types of balls for our project. I ask each student to predict what type of pattern each ball would create. Why does this ball make a different design?