Get Out and PLAY Event – Day 25
Playing ball is a rite of passage around here. As long as I can remember my family has been fans of baseball. Not the kind that takes place at a stadium {although we do like that, too}, but rather the kind that takes place in the backyard, the park, and sometimes, in our living room. For us, baseball is about more than playing - It’s a great way to work on hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and teamwork, amongst other things.
So, now that I've got two little ones myself, I need to get them ready for playing ball with their cousins and friends. While my daughter might be a girly girl most of the time, she definitely has inherited both her parents' love of ball, and we knew we needed to get her some age appropriate gear to enjoy this summer. Of course we turned to Step2, the makers of our favorite outdoor play equipment, to help us find a way to assist in teaching the basics of baseball. Their new Step2 Grand Slam Baseball is like having a kid appropriate batting cage/"catch" partner/and net all in one and it's a great choice for beginner on up.
The design of the Grand Slam Baseball is fairly simple, it's just a medium sized foldable and repositionable net, a heavy duty plastic ball "pitcher", a plastic bat and three squishy balls, but the skills they take away from the game is anything but. Depending on age and ability, you can tailor your game to fit your little one easily while making the learning process fun.
For our daughter who recently turned 3, we started with the most basic exercise: throwing the 3 foam balls into the net over and over again. When she was ready, we turned the Grand Slam Baseball on and she was thrilled with the whoooshing sound it made and even more so when the balls that made it into the net sailed back to her. When we had been working on that for a while, we introduced the included plastic bat for her to try hitting the balls as they were pitched.
While her aim is not the best yet and doesn't make it into the net all that often, she has a blast playing with the Grand Slam Baseball and looks forward to every opportunity to take it outside. For now the novelty of having us fill the hopper and set it to pitch to her is enough, but I am excited about all the ways it can grow with both kids throughout the years. As she develops her aim and then works on her batting, the game will get even more fun for her… and for us.
I find myself getting excited about bringing it out almost as much as she does. It’s really fun to try and change things up by choosing between ground balls and arcing pitches and varying where we stand or what games we play alone and as a family, and it’s not hard to tailor the games to each player’s ability. I know I would have loved to have it to play "catch" with when I was young and couldn't find someone who wanted to play with me, and it would have been really nice to have as I practiced my swing, which has always been a little ... Let's just say "wild".
The Step2 Grand Slam Baseball is the perfect tool for developing your child's coordination, aim, dexterity, and more, as well as being just a whole lot of fun for the whole family. It’s a great warm weather toy that is portable enough to fold and throw into your trunk and take to a park or playdate, as well as being a great backyard toy for all ages of children.
Find out more at Step2.com or find the Grand Slam Baseball in retail near you.
A big thank you to Step2 for this review opportunity. All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.
