Park the Ball in the Garage

The balls are cars and cardboard boxes on their sides are garages. Kids roll their ball with their hands to park it inside a garage. Children practice aiming a roll, controlling force, and hand-eye coordination.

How to play

1. Before class, set the cardboard boxes on their sides around the gym with the openings facing the middle: these are garages. Each child gets a ball-car (1 min).
2. Demonstrate: kneeling two steps from a garage, push the ball with both hands: "Vroom, vroom, into the garage!" (1 min).
3. Everyone at once finds a free garage, parks the car, takes it out, and tries another garage (3 min).
4. On a tambourine tap, kids back up one more step: "Now the garage is farther away!" (2 min).
5. Change the roll: one hand, the other hand, sitting with legs apart, pushing with a foot (3 min).
6. Finish: "It's nighttime, all cars go to sleep." Each child parks slowly and leaves the ball inside a box (2 min).

Rules

• The ball rolls on the floor, not through the air.
• Wait if another car is going into that garage, or find a free one.
• Don't step on or squash the garages.
• Walk or crawl between garages.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: from a wheelchair, roll the ball down a gym bench or a tilted board toward the garage.
• Autism: tape a starting spot in front of each garage so the child knows where to stand.
• Skill levels: confident kids use small balls and narrow garages; kids who need support use a large ball and wide boxes.

Learning goals

• Roll a ball toward a target with one and two hands.
• Adjust force to match the distance.
• Share space and garages with others.

Equipment for a class of 25

• soft balls: 20
• cardboard boxes: 12
• tambourine: 1

Teacher tip

Ask families for cardboard boxes ahead of time; kids love decorating them with a number or a drawing. Have at least one garage for every two kids so nobody waits.

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