This activity promotes development and learning by encouraging children to demonstrate and understand cause-and-effect, and use reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Materials Needed:
- 6 – 8 plastic water bottles, half-filled with water
- Balls in a variety of weights and sizes
- Smooth flat surface
- Paper and pencil (for older children)
Participants: This activity is intended for adult/child interaction, however, once set-up, children can play independently.
Directions:
- Set up a “bowling alley” by organizing the water bottles at the end of a smooth, flat surface.
- Help your child select a ball, and roll gently towards the pins. What happened? How many were knocked down?
- Have your child roll the ball with more force. What happened now? How many were knocked down?
- Select a different ball to roll. Did it have a different effect? Narrate the experience to your child and ask open-ended questions.
Extension: Have older children document their bowling experience by creating a chart or graph indicating how many pins they were able to knock over with each type of ball, or by the amount of force used (soft, medium, hard).
