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Rolling Through History by Jean Bailey, Toy Industry Consultant
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t first glance, balls appear to be just an easy-to-understand toy that kids innately love to engage with. But children are not the only ones exploring the magic and mysteries of balls. Recently, a team of international scientists revealed they had discovered some of the oldest game balls ever found. This was reported in an October 21, 2020 article in Smithsonian Magazine entitled, “These Hair-Filled Leather Pouches Are the Oldest Balls Found in Eurasia.” With new evidence of ball games being played as early as 3,000 years ago, one could argue that these little spheres of fun might just be the oldest play product in the history of humanity. Today we are still enthralled with balls and continue to innovate how we produce and play with them. We have balls that float and bounce off water, balls that glow in the dark and balls that seem to move with a mind of their own. Kids, and those young-at-heart, throw them, bounce them, hit them with
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a club and continue throughout their lifetimes to creatively engage with these circular play products. Let’s just say the fun factor of balls has been proven by their enduring popularity throughout history. But what about their educational prowess? Equally amazing is the fact that these round recreational playthings have an almost unlimited amount they can teach. Starting almost at birth, children can learn so much from playing with balls, including hand grasping. Gripping these little spherical shapes requires small motor skills that later transfer to valuable life skills. Balls, in all their sizes and colorful forms, are perfect tutors for eyehand coordination. Tracking an object with their eyes as kids watch balls bounce, roll and swirl is one of the most valuable lessons and is a precursor to learning how to read. Developing a child’s finger muscles and the ability to transfer an object from one hand to another is an essential early skill all
July 2021 • astratoy.org
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