Knock down

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Age
3-5 years
Child Development
Letter, number identification; vocabulary (shape, colour)
Equipment
1 ball per child
Target to knock down such as shoe boxes
Plastic hockey stick or rolled up newspaper
Physical Activity

Developing movement skills (rolling, kicking, throwing, hockey pass skills, eye-hand and eye-foot coordination); supporting learning (problem solving skills)

How to Play
  1. Stand the targets up like bowling pins and draw a line two to five metres in front of the targets for the bowler to stand behind.
  2. Invite the children to knock over the pins by rolling the ball.
  3. Children with vision impairment can be assisted to know the location of the pins by having music playing behind the pins or a fan blowing air from the pins to the child.
  4. Together with the children, rearrange the pins to make them more difficult to hit, e.g. further apart, further away.
Change it up / Alternatives / Additional Options
  • Invite exploration by asking, for example: “How else can you knock the pins down?” or “What other parts of your body can you use to knock the pins down?” or “Can you kick the ball or use a hockey stick to push the ball?”
  • Decorate targets with shapes or letters. Have the children name the shapes or letters on the targets they’ve knocked over. 
    • Try and knock down pins in sequence, such as first D, then G, then X.

Excerpt from the HOP Early Learning Practitioners Resource (Decoda Literacy Solutions)