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Thursday November 20
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Balloon-y Baseball

Turn a hanging balloon into a safe baseball game!
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Give your child some batting practice without schlepping him to Little League. Simply tie a balloon up in the yard and let him swing for the fences! Watch out, A-Rod!


Lil' Slugger: Your kid.
Bat: Depending on your child's age and skill level, this can be a wiffle ball bat, a racket or just your kid's hands.
Balloon
String or Yarn: Heck, even ribbon will do. Whatever you have lying around.
Tree: To hang the balloon from.
Baseball Uniform: If your child has a uniform from a Little League team or a jersey from Daddy's alma mater, have him put it on. He'll feel more official suited up! If all he has is a baseball cap, that's fine too. (In fact, so are pajamas!)
1 Blow up a balloon. Don't use helium, just your plain old lungs.

2 Tie a long string or piece of yarn to the bottom of the balloon and string it up to a branch so that it hangs down at an appropriate height for your child to reach.

3 If he wants, have your kid slip into his baseball "uniform."

4 Batter, batter, batter…SWING! Hand your child a bat or racket (or have him use his hands) and challenge him to hit the balloon out of the park! This is a great exercise for your child's hand-eye coordination.

5 Every time he makes contact with the balloon, give him a point! Once he gets 10 points, he wins the "Batting Title!" If things aren't going so well, drop the winning point minimum to 5, or you'll be singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at sundown!

6 Write down how many of his "at bats" (attempts to hit the balloon) resulted in "hits" (contact with the balloon). This is his batting average. Keep a log every time he plays. He'll be inspired to practice if he can follow his improvement over time!

The all-time league batting average in Major League Baseball is between .260 and .275, so your kid should be over the moon if he makes contact 3 out of 10 times. Of course, Major Leaguers are aiming at a ball going 100 MPH, not a stationary balloon, but who's comparing?


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