Bowling is a fun modern game and a great way to get up and move. Did you know that the earliest forms of bowling goes back to ancient Egypt? For this game we’ll recycle some bottles and have fun!
Set up Time: 5 minutes
Directions
- Start by collecting bottles – varying shapes and sizes will work if you don’t have uniform ones available
- With the child, wash the bottles with hot soapy water (a great thing to do outside if the weather allows). Once washed, let them dry
- Once dried, line up the bottles like a bowling alley
- Take a ball and start playing, trying to knock over as many bottles as you can!
- Reset and continue playing new rounds.
Tips
If the empty bottles keep falling over, fill them with a little bit of water (ideally done outside). Use this to turn the activity into an experiment, especially with older children – find the right quantity of water for the bottles, utilizing measuring cups and and a funnel to measure and pour.
Materials
- Recycled bottles
- Ball
Learning Through Play
Physical: Gross Motor – Bowling is a great way to invite children to develop core strength, as they bend over and roll the ball, and work on hand-eye coordination as they try to get the ball to knock over the bottles.
Social-Emotional: Takes Turns – Games are a great way to introduce important social-emotional skills like taking turns.
School Readiness: Counting – Naturally introduce counting as you count how many bottles you knock over each time! Add numerals, letters, or shapes to the bottles to scale this “up” to be a school readiness activity.
See this activity in the Rayz Kidz app along with the other fun movement activities. Rayz Kidz is your trusted source for play-based activities featuring over 100 themes and 500+ hands-on activities and clear descriptions of the beautiful learning that is happening through play.
