Home Bowling “Roll Well or Starve” (Ages 3-8)
When prehistoric man hurled rocks and heaved boulders at dinosaurs in an attempt to acquire a meal, the projectiles bounced off the animal’s armor-like torsos, having no effect. Man found, however, when he rolled the orbs at the beast, they often knocked the dinosaurs off their feet—and out. So with that the sport of bowling began.
By the Stone Age, the game had progressed to something closer to our modern-day game, as reflected by what we have observed in the town of Bedrock.
The seventeenth century brought the game to America as a nine-pin game. Two hundred years later, it was banned because of gambling, and a tenth pin was added to skirt the ban. Here it was that the term—technicality began.
Recently, six people set a 24-hour marathon record when they knocked down 242,665 pins. No doubt they would have eaten well in prehistoric days.
Bowling is right up a child’s alley. (Sorry.) It’s easy to understand, it’s easy to perform, and the object is to knock things down. It doesn’t get any better than that, for children. So get on the ball (sorry again), and scrounge up the equipment necessary to play the game at home. Here are some items you can use for equipment:
PINS: One-liter plastic bottles • Tennis ball or Pringles cans • Plastic cups • Cut-up 2×4s • Soft drink cans • Paper towel rolls • Paper cups (Paint them white and red, and put numbers on them, too.)
BALLS: Softball • Tennis ball • Baseball • Whiffle ball • Soccer ball • Pool ball • Plastic or Rubber balls • Homemade balls (Make a ball from Play-Doh, with finger holes, and let it harden.)
SURFACE: Hardwood • Vinyl Flooring • Carpet • Tile • Cement • Grass • Dirt • Asphalt. (The flatter, harder, longer it is, the better.)
FOUL LINE: Belt • Yardstick • Rope • Masking tape • Paint (Yes, it’s important to discern the difference here between indoor and outdoor foul lines.)
PIN SPOTTER & BALL RETURNER: Look in the mirror and introduce yourself.
Hence, set them up and knock them down, make the strikes and avoid the splits, and let the good times roll. (I’m really sorry.)
Rex Bowlby is the father of two boys. He is the author of the book, Why Would I Want the Toy, When I Can Have the Box? (101 Ways to Make the Most of Your Children, With the Least from Your Wallet*) *For parents with children ages 3-8. He lives in Los Angeles, California, USA.