How to teach my four year old sports

EMmom

Sun, May 22 2011, 1:43 pm

My son is pretty klutzy (he has low muscle tone but was not eligible for therapy because he is very physically capable) but loves sports. More importantly, many children here, especially his friends, are very involved in sports and he is signed up for a sport starting Sept.

My husband doesnt work with him too much- he doesnt have too much time nor the patience for that matter. Are there websites, books... that could help me practice or teach him? I grew up dancing so I have no sports related abilities whatsoever & have no idea how to teach him.
Any suggestions?

skcomputer

Sun, May 22 2011, 4:30 pm

I'm not an expert, only the mom of a teenage son who loves sports. Play catch outside - use lots of different types of balls (big, little, squishy, etc). Sometimes include bouncing. We also did a few games indoors where we sit across from each other and toss a ball (or a rolled up pair of socks) and count the number of times we can do it without dropping the ball. Sometimes we sit close and sometimes further apart. Also, we did one where we make our legs like V's and roll the ball between us, keeping it within the V (sit close or far apart). There's the traditional favorite of tossing the sock balls into the sock drawer. There's also balloon volleyball -blow up a balloon and tap it between you and him. All of these activities work on hand/eye coordination which is really useful for sports.

4 year olds can also do T-ball (you can get a set in the toy store) or golf or you can get a little bowling set.

For endurance, you can do walks/runs together (or combine) for short distances (like from home plate to first base on a little league field. Soccer. Jump rope.

Hope this is helpful. Once you find a few things that your son likes to do, then encourage your husband to participate - it is pretty important. My brother-in-law was an older father and his (bar mitzvah age) son still makes comments about wishing his father would have done some sports activities with him when he was younger.