My son Oliver learns best when I can make it fun! Since we have been outside a lot this summer, I thought using a beach ball to practice letters and numbers would be a fun way to do a little learning while we play outside. This is where the idea for Beach Ball ABC Learning Activity was born!
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR BEACH BALL ABC LEARNING ACTIVITY (affiliate links):
- Beach Ball (get one like ours here)
- Black Marker (We used a washable marker so we could erase everything after we were finished, but if you wanted to keep it as a permanent learning ball, I would suggest using permanent marker.)
Check out Oliver in action in the video below:
HOW TO SET UP YOUR BEACH BALL:
- If you are able to find a ball like ours, it made set up super easy with all the colored dots. I started by writing the letter ‘A’ on one of the dots.
- Then I moved to the right and wrote a ‘B’ in the next column of dots.
- Continue moving to the right and write the next letter of the alphabet somewhere in the column. By keeping the next choice in a column of about 5 or 6 choices, it made it easier for Oliver to navigate rather than looking all over the ball for the next letter. This also helps build confidence when the aren’t 100% sure what the next letter is because they only have a few choices to pick from and they can feel more confident in their choice.
- After I completed the alphabet in capital letters, I started writing lowercase letters staring with ‘a’, ‘b’, etc. until I had completed the alphabet in lowercase letters as well.
- Finally, I completed the lowercase alphabet, I started writing numbers. I started with number ‘0’, ‘1’ and kept circling around the ball writing numbers until all the dots were full.
Once we were all set up, I gave Oliver the ball and asked him to find capital A. Once he understood the activity, he worked his way around the ball completed his uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers up to 27 (this was the point I ran out of colored dots on the ball).
If you missed it above, you can get a beach ball like ours here >> https://amzn.to/2LgzyP1
Looking for more fun ways to learn letters?
Check out our Letter Writing in Sprinkles Activity.
Or Alphabet Lids Letter Activity.
