On a brisk sunny morning the toddlers were very interested in playing with the variety of different sized bouncy balls that were brought out into our natural playground. Krista also introduced a hula hoop and some green netting she had converted into our very own basketball hoop/net. The toddlers explored with it, curiously positioning themselves inside the net, and attempted to climb over it as well, but it was too high. After a few games of peekaboo where are you? Peeking out from the net’s holes, they were encouraged to try and throw the balls inside the large hoop net. While, other friends aimed their bouncy balls at the nearby tires on onto the actual net that cascaded down to the ground around them. They used a combination of both eye hand coordination, fine motor skills and spatial awareness, as they grasped the balls with both hands and aimed them in the direction of their desired object. As the toddlers’ practise throwing their balls, working on these emerging skills, they will notice that these skills start to improve with practice, refining their movements. Their analytical minds figuring out what works, what doesn’t work and then attempting to achieve their desired outcome. This helps children to understand that they can get better at something if they keep trying. The net also presented as a challenge for the toddler’s sense of self in relation to the objects around them (spatial awareness). By some of our children expressing an interest in putting their bodies through the hoop, this meant they had to navigate walking through the net and somehow the rope that tied the hoop to the log. They had to engage in a lot of problem solving. For example, when they couldn’t move forwards they had to evaluate what part of their body was ‘stuck’ and readjust themselves, all while maintaining their balance. When it came to the rope, the toddlers had to evaluate whether to go under it or lift their bodies overtop of it instead. When the toddlers got the opportunity to touch and manipulate the hoop, that seemed to be the fun part. They would use their upper body strength (trapezius and deltoid muscles) to pull down on the hoop and when they disengaged and relaxed their muscles, the hoop would pull back to its original spot.
