Beach balls are excellent pieces of equipment to incorporate into adapted physical education (APE) classes and activities. Because of their light, multicolor and soft construction, beach balls are easy to catch and manipulate. These characteristics enhance the success rates of students during ball games. Beach balls are also affordable and fun to play with. Students that practice ball skills can improve overall strength and agility, as well as enhance hand-eye and foot-eye coordination and gross motor skills. The use of beach balls increases the area of contact and requires less finger strength for ball control. Larger balls enable the fingers to be extended, enabling the hand grasp reflex. A study in Italy reported that throwing, catching, passing and rolling a ball improves muscle response time in children with disabilities. Students also learn to track objects as they move and judge distances when they roll, throw, hit and kick balls of various sizes.

Beach balls can be used in a variety of fun games and do not cause the types of injuries that often occur with other types of balls. Students with disabilities want to be involved in fun and games like other children, so it is important to adapt games based on each individual child’s fitness level and type of disability.

Infants and toddlers that engage in ball play develop grasping skills, eye-hand coordination, tracking, finger muscles and the ability to move objects from one hand to another. Cognitively, infants and toddlers learn about the properties of balls:  they bounce, roll down hills, and are easy to move and difficult to keep still. As youngsters play with balls, they begin to get the feel of repetitive rhythms – bouncing, grasping, and squeezing. Ball play can also enhance social skills, as children participate in simple games – rolling, throwing, and kicking balls to one another. 

Early Childhood Activities

Activities for Toddlers

Encourage a toddler to play with and practice rolling a large, lightweight ball. Then, place a large cardboard box on its side, with the opening toward the child. Starting with the box very close, challenge the toddler to roll the ball so it goes into the box. Then, help him or move farther and farther away as he or she begins to master this activity.

Use an indoor or outdoor toddler-sized slide and position one toddler at the top and the other at the bottom. Ask the child at the top to roll a large, lightweight ball down the slide to the other child, who catches it, walks around the slide and returns the ball, and goes back to catch it again. After a while, the children can change places. To make the game more difficult, ask the child at the bottom to move farther away.

Activities for Preschoolers

Ask children to sit in a circle. Explain that the object of this game is to see how long they can hit a beach ball to each other without letting it touch the ground. As they master the game, add a few challenges, such as:  no one can hit the ball twice in a row, children can hit the ball only with the part of their body you call out (e.g., knees, head).

Collect clean cans or plastic bottles and label each with a different bright color. Help children stack the cans and then roll, throw or kick a fairly large ball at them. Have experience-chart paper and matching color markers nearby so you can help the children graph the colors and number of cans they knock down according to the technique they use.

Games

Ball Blast

Objective:  Students on opposing teams throw objects at large beach balls propelling/moving the balls to opposing team’s side.

Equipment:  Volleyball net(s), big beach balls, therapy balls, beanbags, rubber rings, small Nerf-type balls.

Place students on opposing teams separated by a volleyball net. At a “Start” signal, have students throw objects (e.g., beanbags, rubber rings, small Nerf-type balls) at several beach balls placed under the net. Each team should start with the same number of objects to throw (the more objects the better). The net should be at a height close to the height of the largest big ball, but allowing it to roll under.

*Note:  the purpose of the net is to help shield the other team from flying objects.

Some students could be designated as retrievers of objects/beanbags, and other students could be only throwers. Space permitting, two or three games could be going at once whereby each game represents different ability levels (e.g., high, medium, low). If someone has trouble throwing, they could kick the big balls, or they could strike the big balls with a hockey stick. The game is over if (a) all the large balls are in one team’s court/area or (b) an allotted amount of time (20 to 30 minutes) has expired. 

Space Invaders

Objective:  Students are to push a large ball(s) towards designated players moving within a circle.

Equipment:  Large beach ball, large therapy ball.

Students are to create a large outer circle (facing in) and a smaller inner circle (facing out) with one or two large balls (e.g., beach ball, therapy ball) and several students in between. Following a starting signal, students between the two circles try to not be touched by balls, while students making up the inner and outer circles are trying to push the balls towards the students inside. If a student pushing a ball makes contact with a student inside, then those two students switch positions.

The game is over after everyone has had a chance to flee from the balls. Ball size, circle sizes, number of balls, or number of students between the two circles fleeing from the balls will vary the difficulty level. Increasing participation for some students could mean positioning them in the inner circle, having a buddy help them during fleeing and/or allowing them to be touched several times with a ball before having to switch positions.

Volleyball

Objective:  “Volley” the ball over the net to cause the opposing team to mishit or be unable to hit the ball, all while keeping the ball inbounds. It is recommended that the following adaptations be used only when needed to maximize participation and success.

Equipment:  Beach ball, volleyball net or boundary.

General Adaptations:

• Allow for multiple hits beyond three for each side.
• Allow the ball to bounce (like in the game of Newcomb).
• Allow the server to serve closer to the net.
• Allow the student to catch the ball first and then put it back up for play.
• Use larger, softer, brightly colored balls for motivation and fun.
• Minimize unnecessary background noises.
• Use a beeping volleyball, or alternative ball, with a noise-making device for students with vision loss. 
• Have students throw the ball in for a serve.

Sitting Volleyball

Sitting volleyball is a modified discipline of volleyball that can be played by students with or without disabilities. Sitting volleyball is very similar to traditional volleyball with one main difference.  In sitting volleyball, a part of the student’s body between the bottom and the shoulder must be touching the court when making or attempting a shot. Students use their hands to play the ball and to move on the floor as well. Teams are allowed three touches of the ball before it must cross over the net into the opposing team’s half of the court.  The size of the court is reduced from 18 m x 9 m to 10 m x 6 m. The height of the net is lowered to 1.15 m for men and 1.05 m for women.  As a result, the game is much faster than traditional volleyball.  If you have a regulation sized volleyball court in the gym, you can divide the court in half length-wise by stringing a net or rope down the middle to create 3 sitting volleyball courts using those same lines.

General Adaptations:

• It is important to consider each student’s ability level and adapt only when needed and specific to that individual.
• Use smaller or lighter ball (ex: beach ball or foam ball).
• Use a smaller net.
• Place mats on floor to ease in scooting.
• Play on scooter boards to help with movement.
• Play variations of a standard volleyball game: two vs. two, toss and catch, skill building.

Adaptations for Cognitive and Sensory Impairments:

• Minimize background noise during instruction and play.
• Visually demonstrate skills.
• Use flags instead of whistles.
• Catch the ball instead of volleying.
• Move serving line forward.
• Use a larger and bright colored ball.
• Use poly dots to help students find floor position.
• Use a peer assist.

Cooperation Carry

Pair two students to move across the room or play area while carrying the beach ball together. First they might use two hands, then one hand each. Perhaps no hands! Encourage the students to come up with different ways to carry the ball.

Toss and Turn

This is “Simon Says” with a twist. Toss the beach ball up into the air and do something fun before it hits the ground. An adult (Simon) gives a direction, such as “touch your nose,” “clap your hands,” “jump up and down,” or “turn around.” Children throw the ball up into the air and do what Simon Says before it hits the ground. For added fun, let the children take turns being Simon.