Carmen Knight, M.A.T., Early Childhood and Special Education

Most therapy sessions are year-round, so summertime allows therapists to engage our patients in outdoor activities; a fun change from the restrictions of being inside. Doing so gets our patients in the sun and fresh air and encourages movement and play. No inside voices necessary, just fun play outdoors as we work on developmental skills.

Balls are a great toy to use in therapy because they are an inexpensive, fun way to work on developmental issues. Kids love them. They can be used for sensory experience (textured balls), balance (exercise balls), motor skills (bouncing or kick balls) and more. SmileMakers has fun, colorful beach balls (mini beach balls for small children) that can be used for summer therapy sessions. Below are some ways to incorporate them into your patient's developmental activities.

Gross Motor : Beach balls work for all age groups. Toddlers can sit and roll the ball while preschool children and older children can throw and catch the ball. To make things more fun, encourage the child to see how far they can kick the ball. Make it a competition and see who has the longest kick. Beach balls make working on gross motor activities fun.

Developmental Language: Expressive and receptive language will come naturally when kids play with these beach balls. One of the things that I love to do as an Early Interventionist is say, "Ready, Set," and wait for the child to say, "Go!"  That establishes the understanding of receptive and expressive language. It's fun for the child because he feels in control of the activity. 

Socialization: Work on the skills needed to be successful in a group setting such as a preschool or early childhood classroom. Taking turns and following directions is essential in a child's success in social situations. Using the ball to take turns and create wait time will be a great learning tool for each child. 

Make sure you get outside and use these fun beach balls to work on the many areas of development with your child.