Kindergarten Baseball Activities

The boys of summer have been swinging their bats for the better part of two centuries. America's national passtime set down official rules in 1845 and less than 15 years later the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first team to pay its players. In the century and a half since, kids from kindergarten to high school have crowded summer little league fields across America. The rules and skills are tricky for younger players, there's plenty of fun on the field for kindergarten kids.

  1. Base-to-base relays

    • Teach kids to run the bases with a one or two team relay that will have them headed for home. Set up all four bases in the infield and position one player from each team on either side of the first, second and third bases -- one child inside the base path and one child outside. Remaining players form two lines behind home plate. Runners start in the first base-side batters box, then run to first base and tag the next runner, who advances to second and tags the next runner. The relay continues until the last runner reaches home plate. The last runner continues around the base path tagging players on each base and running with them until everyone reaches home. The first team with all players in wins.

    Batting practice

    • Get young kids swinging with a stationary tee. Place a ball on the tee and have one batter swing until he or she hits the ball into play while other players field. Let the same child hit several times while teammates run the bases.

    Baseball crafts

    • Make art and study shapes by having kids make a pennant for their favorite team. Give each child one sheet of construction paper in the color of his or her favorite team. Draw a large triangle and cut it out; decorate the pennant with crayons, paint or make a collage on the pennant using pictures cut out from magazines. Let it dry and it's ready to hang.

    Baseball spelling or math

    • Kids answer questions instead of batting and advance to first by getting the correct answer. The teacher "pitches" spelling words or math problems to batters and doubles as the umpire, telling the batter if he or she has answered correctly. Each correct answer is worth a base.