The Scarf Game

The Scarf Game is a fun game for many ages

Gather as many scarves as you can for this fun game. You could pick some up at a secondhand store or garage sale. Aim for a variety of textures—silk, chiffon, woven, wool, polyester, and so on. Your aim is to entrance your child with a variety of textures and help any child strengthen her ability to touch different textures.

Your mode: the fun of catching.

Start the game with the element of surprise to capture your child’s attention. Walk into the room with a box full of scarves and casually dump the whole box—beautiful scarves fluttering here and there. Spend some time admiring the different varieties and colors. Find all the red ones, for example, and count how many. Admire an especially pretty design. Ask your child to find their favorite.

From there, show your child how to play catch with a scarf. Playing catch with a scarf is so much simpler than with a ball. It works on the same eye-hand-coordination principle, but it’s much easier to master.

Start by doing it together. You gently toss up a small scarf, then put your hands in just the right place so that you then have the ease of catching it as it comes softly fluttering down. Then, keep tossing your scarves higher and higher, with your hands anticipating where the scarf will land.

Another game is to snatch the scarf out of the air as it’s falling down. Throw it up, watch it as it’s floating down, and grab it! “Do it with the right hand, then the left hand. See which one is better at catching.

Or try playing catch with one heavy scarf and one light scarf—they fall at different speeds.”

Not hard enough for older sibling to join, use two scarves! Or try juggling with three! Can your older child toss three up and then twirl around and catch them all?

Or change the game completely by encouraging your child to decorate themselves with all the scarves. Who can make the nuttiest costumes?

Click here for more games from Barbara Sher

GOT GAME? Barbara Sher’s ten books in eleven foreign languages has a gazillion ideas on ways to play with your child whether you’re a parent of one or an inclusive teacher with many. Check out any of Barbara’s books such as Early Intervention Games, Smart Play, Extraordinary Play with Ordinary Things  on any on-line bookstore.

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This post originally appeared on our July/August 2016 Magazine