Dropping Balls into a Basket
Grabbing is easy, letting go at the right moment is its own whole skill to learn.
Dropping Balls into a Basket is a Montessori activity for a child aged 12 to 18 months. Area: Fine Motor. Time: 5-10 min.
What the activity builds
Master a deliberate release, a motion that develops later and is harder than grasping.
The materials
- Three or four soft balls, about the size of a tennis ball
- A basket or bucket with a low rim
- A rug, so the balls don't roll too far
How to do it, step by step
- Set the basket close to them and the balls within reach.
- Pick up a ball, hold it above the basket, and open your hand.
- Watch the ball drop together, without commenting.
- Hand them a ball and wait, your own hand open above the basket.
- Let them start over as many times as they'd like, putting the balls back within reach.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. Don't cheer when the ball lands in: the goal isn't aiming, it's opening the hand on purpose. The satisfaction comes from the motion itself, not from your reaction.
Safety
Balls should be bigger than a toilet paper tube: a small bouncy ball is one of the objects that cause the most choking incidents. No marbles, no foam ball that crumbles apart. Constant supervision.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: the basket held right against their belly.
- Harder: a container with a narrower opening, like a milk jug.
- Extension: sorting two colors of balls into two baskets.
Up next
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