The Tennis Ball Games and Activities for Children

Easy Activities

• Prepare an easy tossing activity by asking everyone to stand in a circle. Give one player a tennis ball. Tell him to toss the ball in the air as high as he can while calling out the name of another player. That player must catch the tennis ball before it hits the ground. Keep playing this activity until each player has a chance to catch the ball. Another idea is to have each player select a partner. Have a contest to see which pair can toss a tennis ball the farthest distance without dropping it.

Throwing Games

• A few activities help children learn how to roll or throw a ball with control. Place 10 empty soda bottles in a pyramid shape form like bowling pins on the ground. Have the children roll tennis balls at the bottles to try to knock them down. Alternatively, stack three cans in a pyramid shape form on a table. Children will throw the tennis ball at the cans to try to knock them down. Keep score of how many bottles or cans each player knocks down. The player who knocks down the most bottles or cans wins the game.

Craft Activities

• Allow children to "paint" with tennis balls using tempura paints. Spread a large piece of butcher paper outside on a sidewalk. Children must dip the tennis balls into the paint and bounce them all over the paper to create different designs. Challenge the children to try to spell out their name or make a certain object on the paper. Alternatively, hang the paper on a solid surface like an outside wall. Have the children throw the tennis balls at the paper to create a splattered paint effect.

Other Games

• Take the children outside or in a large area with room to run. Stand at least 25 feet from the children and toss a ball into the air. While the ball is in the air, call out a number like 50. The player who catches the ball earns 50 points. If a player attempts to catch the ball and misses, he loses 50 points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Another game to play with tennis balls is wall ball. Have two players stand in front of a wall. One player must bounce a ball off the wall and the other player must catch the ball. The first player to miss the ball or drop it loses the game. Alternatively, play wall ball with several players. If a player tries to catch a ball and misses it, he is out of the game.