Morning game · No. 28
Palm Swap
Trade one ball into your partner’s open palm while taking theirs with your other hand, crossing arms when the balls ask for it.
- Ages
- 3+
- Energy
- Low
Helps with
What you need
- Two soft balls the size of a small orange
Set up
Sit across a table from each other. Each player holds one ball in one hand, resting on the table, and lays the other hand palm-up and open beside it.
How to play
On “Swap!”, the child does two things at once: place their ball into the adult’s open palm, and take the adult’s ball with their free hand. Both hands move together, then come back to rest.
After each swap, the adult chooses where their ball and open palm go for the next round. Sometimes the child’s ball is on the same side as the open palm and the hands move straight across. Other times the child must cross one arm over the other to reach. Look first, then move both hands together.
Keep a calm rhythm: look, swap, rest. After a few rounds, switch roles so the child sets the hand positions and the adult does the swapping.
Make it easier
Swap one hand at a time: give first, then take. Keep the open palm on the same side for several rounds before changing it.
Make it harder
Speed up the rhythm, swap on a quiet nod instead of a call, or have both players give and take at the same moment so all four hands move together.