10+ Basketball Activities That Are Ideal For Your Kids 

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I was totally in love with basketball 🏀 and enthusiastic about it throughout my school and college days. 

How could I skip out on instilling the same love and enthusiasm for this game in my children?

Whenever I engage in any kind of basketball activity with my kids, it brings back tons of memories, and we end up creating new memories at the same time.

These basketball activities are not just engaging, but they have a positive impact on the development of muscles 💪, cognitive 🧠 abilities, and motor skills of my children. Therefore, I believe these beneficial basketball 🏀 activities should be on the to-do list of every parent.

Ideal Basketball Activities For Your Little Ones 

I always tell my kids that many valuable lessons like sportsmanship and teamwork are learned in the sports field, and the basketball 🏀 court is one of the best examples of it. 

I have prepared a list of all basketball-themed activities I love engaging in with my kids, and I am very happy 🥰 to share them with all the parents here.

Pass The Ball

Pass The Ball Game For Kids

Do you want to enhance the hand-eye coordination alongside the footwork of your child?

If so, I will highly recommend this activity for you and your little ones. 

What you need– 

Just a basketball.

Steps:

  • My son and I grab a basketball 🏀 and stand in front of each other at a distance of about one meter. 
  • I guide my son, and we keep passing the ball between us while shifting throughout our lawn. 
  • The one who drops the ball loses points, and if we complete a round without dropping the ball, I treat my son to his favorite 🍪 cookies.
  • Sometimes, my daughter joins us 🥰 and takes up the role of catching the ball while we are in the middle of passing it to each other. 

Important Note: 

If your toddlers join you in this game, please make sure they are under your strict supervision and don’t end up getting hurt.

Ball In The Basket 

Ball In The Basket Game For Kids

I have figured out ways to enjoy this game without a proper basketball court. I never miss out on any activity that helps to strengthen the muscular 💪 control of my kids, and this activity is one of them.

In fact, this activity also brushes up their counting abilities.

What you need– 

White chart paper, marker pen, scissors ✂️, dice 🎲, a basket 🗑, and a basketball.

Steps: 

  • I help my kids to make six square-shaped cutouts out of white chart paper. 
  • I usually draw square outlines using dotted or continuous lines on a piece of white chart paper and guide my kids to cut along those dotted lines using a pair of ✂️scissors. Let me tell you that this is a very impactful fine motor activity for kids.
  • I write ✍️ the numbers one to six on these pieces and place them at random distances on the lawn. 
  • Now, I ask my kids to roll a dice 🎲 and count the number of dots on the top side of it. 
  • They are supposed to locate the same number on a piece of cutout lying on the ground and stand on it holding a basketball.
  • I place a basket 🗑 at a suitable distance and encourage my kids to aim and throw the basketball into it while standing on the cutout.
  • I keep changing the position of the cutouts so that during every round, my kids get the chance to analyze a new distance of the basket’s location from the cutouts. This basketball 🏀 activity works wonders 👌 in improving the analytical as well as counting skills of my kids.
  • If you don’t have a basket at home, you can use hula hoops (with a stand) or a tub for this purpose.

Important Note:

Please take every kind of precaution while teaching your child how to utilize a pair of scissors ✂️ safely in order to avoid accidents.

Weighing Different Balls

Weighing Different Balls Activity For Kids

I often notice my son comparing the weights of footballs ⚽️ and basketballs 🏀 whenever he is playing. 

Having knowledge regarding the weight of a ball is important in order to manipulate the ball during the game. 

Therefore, I have figured out this activity to help my son develop knowledge about how the weight of a ball plays a role in deciding how far a ball will travel when we throw it with a certain amount of force.

What you need– 

Papers of different textures (such as sandpaper, glossy paper, glitter paper, hand-made paper, newspaper, tissue paper, kite paper, and any other paper you like), balls of different weights (such as footballs ⚽️, basketballs 🏀, tennis 🎾 balls, cricket 🏏 balls, golf ⛳️ balls and even styrofoam balls), and a basket.

Steps: 

  • I place a basket at a location of about one or two meters. I guide my son to crush all the different kinds of papers into balls and aim to throw them into the basket. 
  • Every ball has a different weight depending on the kind of paper used; therefore, each ball travels a different distance when thrown towards the baskets. 
  • I try my best to guide my son through all the queries he has regarding the outcome of every throw. Moreover, let me tell you that exposure to different kinds of textured papers serves as an amazing sensory exercise for all children.
  • For the next round, we use different kinds of balls, such as golf balls, cricket balls, tennis balls, basketballs 🏀 and footballs. 
  • We try to analyze the outcome of throwing all these balls toward the basket utilizing more or less the same force to throw each ball.
  • This amazing activity promises to improve the analytical 🧠 and muscular 💪 skills of your child alongside providing them with better ideas 💡 to excel in games involving a ball.

Basketball Puppets 

In my household, we love making puppets utilizing different materials. Puppets are one of the most liked 👍🏻 entertainers in our house. 

Here are a few methods using which we make adorable 😉 basketball puppets at home-

  • Sometimes, we paint 🎨 a paper plate like a two-dimensional basketball 🏀 and also paint eyes 👀 and a smiley ☺️ on it. 
  • To make this activity more beneficial as a sensory exercise, I ask my kids to stick different kinds of embellishments and accessories on the paper plate. 
  • You can attach an ice stick to it to serve as a puppet holder or hang it in your living room using threads.
  • Often, my kids love to stick together two semi-circular pieces of styrofoam balls to form a complete sphere. 
  • We paint it or cover it using tiny bits of orange-colored textured paper 🟠 (a highly recommended sensory activity). We add detailing by drawing black colored lines all over it using paint to make our own adorable basketball.
  • My son once pointed out that oranges 🍊 look like edible basketballs; therefore, I prepared black food coloring and guided him through painting lines on the orange so that it resembles a basketball even more. 
  • We used candies 🍬 to create two eyes 👀 on this basketball made out of an orange and stuck noodles in a curved line under the eyes to make a smile. Often, we also decorate a circular cookie 🍪 with orange cream 😋 to make it resemble a basketball.
  • We draw eyes and a mouth on a basketball 🏀 using a marker pen and play with this bouncing smiley basketball throughout the lawn. My son often wonders how 🤔 the puppet is still smiling after being thrown on the ground so many times.

Watch Movies Related to Basketball 

As we all know, visual references like documentaries, animated movies, and shows have a strong impact on children; therefore, I carefully choose which movies 🎬 I should watch with my kids in order to raise their interest in this game.

Moreover, these movies play an important role in educating my kids about the historical importance and moral aspects of basketball.

Here is a list of all the movies 🎞 about basketball we love to watch together- 

Important Note:

I will advise all parents to go through the contents of every book 📖 before letting their little ones read it to make sure that the contents are suitable according to the age group of your child.

Read Books Related to Basketball 

Books Related To Basketball For Kids

Reading books 📚 to basketball 🏀 is as important as the practice sessions on the basketball court. 

Not only do these books educate my kids about the history, players, and rules of the game, but they also introduce them to the overall important aspects ✅️ of basketball.

Missing out on the opportunity to enjoy these amazing basketball books 📖 together with your kids will be a complete loss.

Here are a few informative basketball books I like to read with my kids-

Important Note:

I will advise all parents to go through the contents of every movie 🎞 before letting their little ones watch it to make sure that the contents are suitable according to the age group of your child.

Numbers and Counting

Counting Activity For Kids

If your little one is a toddler, then this basketball counting 🔢 activity is ideal for them.

I take a bunch of basketball 🏀 cutouts and place them in random numbers on the floor. My toddler’s job is to count the number of basketballs accurately. 

If your little one is of my son’s age, then arrange three baskets 🗑 in a row and label them as ‘even numbers,’ ‘odd numbers,’ and ‘prime numbers, ‘ respectively.

I write ✍️ a random number on every cutout, jumble them up, and ask my kids to segregate the cutouts in the bins accordingly. I also guide them through adding up all the numbers in each bin. 

Often, I replace the numbers with alphabets 🔡 and guide my kids through segregating the vowels and consonants in separate bins. In fact, my kids love arranging these basketball 🏀 cutouts to form a complete word.

Conclusion

Basketball 🏀 has been a favorite throughout centuries, and I love ❤️ to watch my little ones enjoy and learn about this wonderful game.

All these basketball activities are extremely beneficial and entertaining for all the kids. 

If you have any other ideas 💡 of incorporating the theme of basketball into amazing activities, then please let me know 😇 in the comments below.

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