A prerequisite to catching games is simply knowing how to catch. To teach a young child to catch a ball, sit on the floor across from the child with legs apart and extended. Roll the ball back and forth. Once this is mastered, kneel across from one another and gently bounce the ball back and forth. When simple catching is accomplished, then try some variations, such as throwing the ball with alternating hands or throwing the ball backwards over the shoulder at a target, for instance.
Young children will enjoy and benefit from learning to dribble a ball. The Gertie ball, with its extra tactile features, makes the process a little easier. Instruct the child to use the fingertips instead of the palm of the hand. Start with the ball a bit to the side of the body. Once the child has a rhythm established, then move onto some more challenging dribbling activities, such as alternating between hands, or dribble at a level below the knees, then below the waist. Draw a zigzag or curvy line on sidewalk with chalk and have child walk and dribble the Gertie ball along the chalk path.
To refine catching, throwing or tossing skills, set up targets for your child to toss the Gertie ball at or into. For instance, set up a bucket a few feet in front of the child to toss the ball into. Another option is to take heavy cardboard or plywood and cut out holes larger than the ball and make a sort of carnival-style toss game. Set up empty soda bottles across the room for the child to knock over, in the fashion of bowling.
Teach children to bounce the Gertie ball against a bare wall. Have the child throw the ball at the wall and allow it to bounce once before catching it. Have the children do that once more, then progress to throwing the ball and then clapping before the ball bounces and then catching it. Repeat this three times, then have the child clap and turn around once before the ball bounces. Do this four times. Next, after tossing the ball at the wall, have the child clap, turn around and then stamp a foot before catching. Continue in this manner, adding some simple actions before catching the ball once it has bounced one time. Keep this as simple or make it as challenging as the child can handle successfully.