Auggie loves to throw things but it’s not always ideal - especially in the house! I wanted to do an activity that would let him practice the motor-planning and big gross-motor movement required for throwing - bird seed was the answer.

WHY?
I’m all about doing activities with the least clean up possible! Aside from taking a jug back inside - this activity requires zero clean up! It takes a long time for children to learn how to throw well- even though it feels so easy to us now. Only by trial and error do kids learn how far to bring their arm back, how far to move it forward, when to open their hand, how fast to move, how to aim at a target etc. There’s always a million reasons to stop your child from throwing (don’t throw that at your sister, no balls in the house, put those stones down you might hit someone, don’t throw that it’ll break) so creating practice time is important.

HOW?
You really don't need a 'how' section for something so simple but just know that wild bird seed is easy to buy in the pet section of any grocery store.

LANGUAGE OPPORTUNITIES
"throw the seeds, there are lots and lots of seeds, they're all over the grass! The birds will find the seeds and peck peck peck them! They're so hungry! The seeds feel nice when you out your hand in. They're sneaking through your fingers! I wonder who will fly into our garden to eat the seeds? Will ducks come to eat the seeds? Pigeons?"

BONUS!
You'll get a whole load of birds coming to your garden- you can do some bird watching!!

Watch Auggie feed the birds here