Hand Eye Coordination and Just Plain FUN

Here is a fun and easy way to develop hand eye coordination (gross motor skill).

I tied a Wiffle ball onto a string which I tied to a tree branch.  Wiffle balls work great because they have holes on the top and bottom so you can attach the string, they are cheap, and they don't hurt if they hit you.  The "bat" is actually a styrofoam noodle we use at the swimming pool.  We cut it into 2 pieces so we each had our own bat.  Then we were ready to play.
Disclaimer: I actually saw this done at a Star Wars birthday party at a park. The mom put some silver duck tape on the bottom of the bat to make it look like a lightsaber.  The boys at the party loved it!

A few words on Hand Eye Coordination:  It is the ability of the eyes to guide the hands in movements. Why is it so important for your child to develop this skill?

• In gross motor games, hand eye co-ordination can help your child to catch a ball and hit a ball with a bat.
• In school, visual-motor integration, which is a vital skill for handwriting, grows out of a good hand-eye co-ordination base. The eyes need to guide the hand in forming the letters and making sure they stay within the lines.
• Eye tracking skills, which are vital for reading, can also develop through the gross motor games used for hand eye coordination.