It's no secret that teaching the alphabet to preschoolers does weird things to your brain... A is for Anty Apples, A, A, A. B is for Bouncy Balls, B, B, B. Bouncing balls... b-balls... bee-balls!When Mimi was tiny we bought one of those 100-ball bags thinking it sounded like a lot of balls. And of course it was. It was 100 balls to be precise. Yet as large as the bag seemed while I was trying to get it from the store to the car, and then into the boot, the 100 balls, suddenly seemed to do a disappearing act when I emptied the bag out at home. You know those clam shell swim-pool-sand-pits? Well we didn't have one of those, we had a boat shaped one, but same idea, and whilst the 100 ball-bag had inspired me to think of a knee-deep Ikea styled ball-pit when I had seen it on sale in the shop, when the bag was emptied out at home, they would have rattled around in the boat, if that were possible of empty round balls!
Anyway. We've had plenty of fun with the balls since, though they have slowly lost they're shape and colour, and strangely, their number seems to be ever-diminishing though everyone swears they've never thrown them in the bin or over the fence... Regardless, there are still more balls than we need, so when I had my bee-ball moment I was flushed with happiness that we might have come up with a better use for them than throwing them at each other!
With some strips of black electrical tape (duct tape or washi tape might also work) some round sticky dots and those white ring dots that you're meant to stick on the holes you punch in paper (does anyone ever?!?) Little Lotti and I came up with a couple of buzzy bee balls. We folded some paper to make some concertina wings, but then pulled these back off - balls don't bounce or roll with wings!
With enough balls, stickers and tape, this would be a fun party-crafty to make with toddlers or preschoolers. It could work with a seasonal theme, for a baby-shower, or just to keep little people happy inside on a rainy day... And don't stop with bees; make funny three-eyed aliens, half-circles would make happy mouths for circus clowns, or any combination of spots for whatever creature takes their fancy.
Turns out that driving yourself mad with the ABC can pay off sometimes...!!
