We’re the Ostmo family, and we love learning about countries and people. Our oldest daughter, Melaya, has tons of friends all around the world!

Luca the Soccer Player

Maye has a friend named Luca who lives in Madrid, Spain. Luca was telling Melaya that he just got picked as a striker at his soccer team “a striker’s main purpose is to always try and score goals”. Soccer is known as football in most countries and it’s a sport where two teams of 11 players each try to kick a ball into the other’s team goal. Luca explained to Melaya that becoming a striker is very difficult because you have to be highly athletic and competitive. Competitive means you have to try and be better than your teammates. Luca said he and his friends are very competitive but always support each other as friends should!

Have you ever played soccer? Who is your favorite soccer player?

Denzel Loves Basketball

Now, in the United States, over 3,000 miles away from London in New York City, lives another friend of Melaya named Denzel. He and Melaya chatted a while ago and Denzel explained to Melaya why he loves basketball. He said that basketball is a sport played by two teams of 5 players each and in order to score points, they must throw a ball through the opponent’s basket. Denzel said when was smaller he always watched basketball games on TV with his dad and his actual first words were “basket!”. Denzel said he has been practicing a lot and now he can jump very high to almost touch the basketball net.

That’s really high, don’t you think? How high can you jump?

Francesca’s Dad Likes Playing Baseball

Melaya has a friend named Francesca who lives in Rome, Italy. Francesca’s dad is an amazing baseball player but Francesca is petrified of baseball. She explained that in baseball, a player on one team throws a small ball at a player on the other team, who tries to hit it with a bat, and then the player who hits the ball has to run around the field to score points. Francesca said she’s always worried that the player who hits the ball, which is called the batter, would hit the ball too hard and it would fly high and hit her. However, the last time Francesca called Melaya she told her how she has started to overcome her fear, and now she’s starting to like baseball.

She told Melaya that facing her fears and trying new things is awesome and fun!

What about you, friends? When was the last time you tried something new?

Golf is Grace and her Mom’s Favorite Ball Sport

Now, in Kilkenny, Ireland, lives another good friend of Melaya called Grace. Grace’s family is part of a very luxurious club where people play different sports and golf is Grace’s favorite, she said golf is a sport in which players hit tiny white balls with metal sticks called golf clubs, and in order to win they have to get these balls into tiny holes in the ground. Grace says her mom taught her how to play and she is very competitive. She has won a lot of trophies! 

Robin Loves Reading and Playing Tennis

Melaya has a friend named Robin who lives in Ontario, Canada. Robin loves reading a lot of different books about nature and sports. The sport robin is most interested in is Tennis. She told Melaya she loves watching Tennis games on tv with her brother. She explained to Melaya the last time they spoke that Tennis is a sport that can be played either solo (against one opponent) or in teams of two which is also known as doubles. She has learned all the rules and their parents have purchased all the equipment they needed. Such as a tennis racket, tennis balls, and some really cool shoes. Robin said next summer, she and her brother are going to practice with her dad. 

There are a lot more amazing and popular Ball sports around the world! Melaya says maybe she would like to try some of them, like volleyball, cricket, and American Football, though she’s not really sure about the last one since American football can be very rough. 

Tell us in the comments what your favorite ball sports are! If you want to learn more, make sure to download the activity pack. We have flashcards, a learning guide, handwriting sheets, and drawings pages all dedicated to various ball sports!

Melaya loves chatting with kids from all over the world! If you want to teach Melaya about where you live or your favorite activities, please tell your mom or dad to use @learningtail on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to get in touch with us. 

Ciao friends, until next time!