ACTIVITIES TO TRY
“We start out with slow moving equipment like balloons and fluff balls.”
Help your child to develop the fundamental physical skills required to coordinate bat and ball by playing fun games at home.
You don’t need a court or any expensive equipment. With a bit of imagination and a little time, you can replicate Wimbledon in your kitchen, living room or backyard.
Here are a few ideas.
Balloon Tennis
Great wet weather activity! Mark out your ‘court’ with cushions or pieces of string. Find something to make a net – the sofa, a couple of chairs or a stack of boxes or cushions. Using your hands or a bat or a biscuit tin lid, knock the balloon over the net to your partner.
If you need more of a challenge, use your other hand – or bring in a 2nd balloon! Make up your own rules and scoring system if you are competitive.
Cereal Box Table Tennis
Using your kitchen table, create a net with a row of cereal boxes. Bump a ping pong ball back and forward using your hands, a tin lid or a piece of cardboard.
Tennis Battleships
Set up 2 chairs and attach a piece of string between them to form a net. Each player finds 6 items (cushions, clothing, soft toys, boxes) and scatters them on her side of the net. These are your battleships. Using a soft playball, take turns at throwing it over the net towards the targets.
Every time you hit one, it is removed. First player to sink all the battleships, is the winner.
Tennis Piñata
Fill a plastic bag with scrunched up newspaper (and some small treats). Tie the handles together and secure it to a washing line or tree branch. Or attach it to a broom handle and hold it above your head. The child then takes a bat or a stick and jumps up to hit the piñata. Keep hitting until the bag rips and the contents fall out.
This activity is brilliant for encouraging kids to hit above their heads.
You don’t need a court or any expensive equipment. With a bit of imagination and a little time, you can replicate Wimbledon in your kitchen, living room or backyard.
Here are a few ideas.
Balloon Tennis
Great wet weather activity! Mark out your ‘court’ with cushions or pieces of string. Find something to make a net – the sofa, a couple of chairs or a stack of boxes or cushions. Using your hands or a bat or a biscuit tin lid, knock the balloon over the net to your partner.
If you need more of a challenge, use your other hand – or bring in a 2nd balloon! Make up your own rules and scoring system if you are competitive.
Cereal Box Table Tennis
Using your kitchen table, create a net with a row of cereal boxes. Bump a ping pong ball back and forward using your hands, a tin lid or a piece of cardboard.
Tennis Battleships
Set up 2 chairs and attach a piece of string between them to form a net. Each player finds 6 items (cushions, clothing, soft toys, boxes) and scatters them on her side of the net. These are your battleships. Using a soft playball, take turns at throwing it over the net towards the targets.
Every time you hit one, it is removed. First player to sink all the battleships, is the winner.
Tennis Piñata
Fill a plastic bag with scrunched up newspaper (and some small treats). Tie the handles together and secure it to a washing line or tree branch. Or attach it to a broom handle and hold it above your head. The child then takes a bat or a stick and jumps up to hit the piñata. Keep hitting until the bag rips and the contents fall out.
This activity is brilliant for encouraging kids to hit above their heads.
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