Target throwing

What you need

• An outside space or an indoor floor area clear of furniture and other objects
• Small bean bags (don’t have any of these? Use balled up socks, or fill a sock with a weight such as dried rice, tying a knot in the top)
• A chalk to mark your targets on the ground or a large piece of paper taped to the floor with your targets drawn on

Benefits

Throwing is a great way to develop gross motor skills as your child can practice their over and underarm throwing. Aiming for a target is also a great way to improve hand-eye coordination. Maths skills can be developed through reaching the targets.

The experience

Set up your targets area. You may like to draw three circles within each other.

Create a standing line where you stand to throw, and enjoy throwing the beanbag to the targets. Who can reach the smallest circle? Whose went the furthest?

You can develop lots of mathematical vocabulary as you talk about distance and speed - how fast did it travel in the air?

For added challenge for older children, you could add numerical value to the targets and keep score of how many points each participant has gained.