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Throughout the year we'll hear from eight bloggers as they share about their family's time in the brand-new Riley Children's Health Sports Legends Experience® and how it inspires them to explore these sports back at home.
This post was written by Children's Museum Blog Ambassador Ashleigh Ferguson. Follow her posts on the blog and follow her on Instagram @mymotherhood.life.
This month while visiting The Children’s Museum my boys were really drawn to the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever Basketball Experience! I think they really got into basketball while watching the Pacers on their playoffs winning streak! And Axel was clearly excited about meeting some of the Indiana Pacemates! I'll be sure to tell him one day that his Nana was a Pacemate back in the day!
After we had fun playing basketball at the museum, I decided to make a fun basketball learning game at home! Cash is all about playing “Around the World” with me, but with Kindergarten just around the corner for him, I decided we would play a similar game with some addition and spelling! I mean, why not get some learning in when they don’t really notice they’re learning?!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Sidewalk chalk.
- Dice (We found these really fun oversized dice at Walmart in their outdoor toys section!)
- Basketball and goal.
Object of the game:
To have fun playing basketball, learn how to recognize numbers, practice addition, and learn to spell!
Here’s how to play:
- If you have 2 dice, write out your numbers 1-12 in the same way you’d play Around the World. Or in a half circle around the basketball goal. (Like shown here)
- Choose ONE word. Any word, like “CAT” and write it on the ground.
- Roll the dice
- Add the numbers and shoot from that number.
- If you make it, put a mark above the first letter of the word you chose.
- Keep playing until someone gets a mark above all the letters in the word you chose!
First person to spell the word wins! Then choose another word and play again!
We had some fun with this game! It’s easy to change the rules up and create your own game, too. So have fun, be creative, and make learning fun!!
