Toss and Catch a Cloud

[30 Minutes]

This "Make-it-Yourself" game will stimulate your young child's imagination and build eye/hand coordination and counting skills.

You'll need:

• several sheets of construction paper • large plastic lid • crayons • glue • cotton balls

What to do:

1. Help your child make a large circle on the construction paper by tracing around the plastic lid.
2. Invite her to decorate it with crayons, if she wants. While she makes one, make one yourself or have her make enough for the whole family.
3. Ask your child to draw a line from the center of the circle to the edge.
4. Have her cut on that line. Then, help her overlap and glue the edges of the slit to form a cone.
5. Once the cones are dry, invite your child to toss a cotton ball into the air and catch it in the cone.

How to use:

1. As you toss the cotton ball back and forth, count how many times you catch it. Can you get to a higher number each time? Have your child record the numbers on a piece of paper.
2. Give your child some problem-solving situations such as: Can you toss and catch the "cloud" while standing on one foot? Can you take a step backward after each toss and still catch the "cloud"?

Let's Talk: Ideas to Explore Together.

• Let's talk about the shapes as we play. Which is a circle? Which is a cone? Which is a sphere? Which shape can be made from another shape?
• What else could you toss in your cone?

Useful information:

While you are having fun together, your child is developing eye/hand coordination and math skills.