Hand Strengthening

Feed the Ball

Description: Tennis ball with horizontal cut in which small items are place in and
taken out by squeezing
Age and population: Kindergarten, 1st 3rd grade, Developmental Delay, Autism

Purpose
This activity is designed primarily for hand strengthening.

Materials
Beads, Beans, Coins, Tennis Ball

Skills
Bilateral Hand Use (?), Finger Strength, Finger Translation, and Pincer Grasp

Description
Cut a 3 inch horizontal line across the tennis ball (so when you squeeze the ball, it
looks like the tennis ball is opening a mouth). Put the coins (beans or beads can be
used as well with older kids) on the table, in front of the child.

First, show the child how to squeeze the ball so it opens its mouth using only one
hand (preferably the dominant hand). Then have the child pick up the coins, one
coin at a time, using a pincer grasp and "feed" the ball by squeezing it with the
other hand and opening its mouth.

To work on finger translation, ask the child to pick up 2-3 coins at one time and
"feed" the tennis ball one coin at a time.

Upgrade: Use disks of different colors to add a visual discrimination task.

Downgrade: Use both hand instead of only one to squeeze open the ball.