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| Games & Fitness |
| Developing Healthy Bodies
Encourage children to participate in activities that use large muscles. These activities might include throwing, catching, skipping, climbing and balancing. Practicing and mastering these skills helps a chid to gain confidence and the ability to develop gross motor control and coordination. Provide Active Play in your Daily Curriculum by Encouraging Children to Move in nonlocomotor ways (anchored movement: bending, twisting, rocking, swinging one's arms) Move in locomotor ways (nonanchored movement: running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, climbing) Move with objects Express creativity in movement Describe movement Act upon movement directions Feel and express steady beat Move in sequences to a common beat Make equipment and materials available Family Fitness Tips Walking, playing, and running in the backyard or using playground equipment at a local park can be fun for the entire family. There are also other activities that you can play with your preschool child or encourage your child to play with friends who are his or her age. Play games such as duck, duck, goose or follow the leader. Mix it up with jumping, hopping, and walking backward. Kick a ball back and forth or set up a goal for your child. Practice hitting a ball off a T-ball stand. Play freeze dance or freeze tag. Practice balance by pretending to be statues. Your kids can be active, even when they have to be indoors. Designate a safe play area and try some active inside games: Treasure hunt: You can hide "treasures" throughout the house and provide clues of where they might be Obstacle course: You can set up an obstacle course with chairs, boxes, and tours for the kids to go over, under, through, and around Soft-ball games: Use soft foam balls to play indoor basketball, bowling, soccer, or catch. You can even use balloons to play volleyball or catch. Getting Started to a Healthy Childhood: Stretching Exercises Climb the Ladder Stand on the spot with feet shoulder width apart. Move arms and legs up and down as if climbing a ladder to the sky. Stork Stretch Stand and hold onto something for balance. Grasp your right foot or shin with your right hand and gently pull it back toward you buttock. Tilt your right hip forward slightly until you feel a gentle stretch in front of your thigh. You may also feel a slight stretch in your right shin. Keep thighs together. Repeat on Left side. Sit and Reach From sitting position extend your right leg forward and tuck your left foot towards your right inner thigh. Lean forward towards the outstretched leg, leading with your chest and extending hands towards the foot. Feel the gentle stretch in the back of your extended leg. March on The Spot Stand tall and march on the spot, swinging arms. Try to raise knees to waist height. Add variety by marching in a circle, square, and figure 8. March forwards, backwards, sideways. March for about 30 seconds. Stand and Stretch Stand in a lunge position with front leg bent and back of foot to the floor and feel a gentle stretch in the back of the lower leg. Do not bend front knee beyond ankle. Both feet should point directly forward. Repeat with the other leg. Hug your Legs Lie on the ground-floor and bring one leg to the chest. Clasp leg behind thigh, rotate ankle one way, then the other. Hold stretch for 15 seconds. Switch to other leg. V Sit Sit and extend legs to each side to make a letter V. Keeping knees slightly bent, put hands between legs and slowly walk hands forward away form the body. When a gentle pull is felt along the back of your legs, hold the stretch 10 second. Repeat. Cat Stretch Get on hands and knees, arch backup and hold 10 to 15 seconds. Return to flat back. Repeat 3 times. Tall as a House, Small as a Mouse, Wide as a Wall Stretch fingers up to the sky, standing on tip toes. Hold 10 seconds then crouch down and hug knees to curl up like a mouse. Return to standing position and extend arms and legs out on each side of your body to stretch as wide as a wall. Walking Wonders Begin walking with children in a large circle, swinging arms at your sides. Everyone keeps walking while copying you. Touch shoulders with hands, then reach up overhead. Turn chin side to side to look over each shoulder for 5 seconds. Walk on toes. Walk on heels. Walk sideways. Skip forwards and sideways. Upper arm Stretch Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Raise right arm above the head and bend elbow so the right hand rests at the back of the neck/upper back. Now raise left hand to rest on right elbow. Give a slight backward press to the elbow until you feel a gentle stretch in the right upper arm. Hold the stretch for 8 seconds. Now repeat with left arm. Group Circle Stretch Children stand in circle with legs straddled slightly feet and arms touching for balance. Gently sway, reach, pull, twist and stretch in a variety of directions and levels. Tickle the ankle of the person beside you; rub the back of the person on your right Activity Ideas BLOB Designate boundaries. One person is blob, any one tagged by the Blob must join hands and become part of it. Blobs can fragment into pieces of at least two people. Object: For Blob to devour everyone, for everyone else stay alive as long as possible. ROBOTS Divide the group into groups of three or four, and in these one person is designated the Master, the others are his Robots. Robots keep moving only in a straight line (walking like robots, of course) until they encounter an obstacle (edge of the area, a tree, another robot, etc.) of any kind, when they stop and start "beeping" an S.O.S. to their master who must come and start them moving again in another direction. Perhaps a Master may want his robots to have a "unique" styled distress beep. Periodically change the Masters in each group. QUACK Everyone stands feet slightly apart, hands on knees or ankles, looking back through their legs. Then they start moving backwards. Any contact with another player, they say a loud "Quack!" This will loosen a group up. RUN, RUN CHICKEN GO HOME Like wall to wall, the children run from one safe zone to the next, but in the middle is the catcher, who calls, "Run run chicken go home" to signal the others to run across the mid space. Anyone tagged becomes part of the catchers for the next run, proceeding until all are caught and the game begins anew. Travelling Action Cards Create cards with the following pictures or symbols. When shown encourage children to act out what they see on the card. Try to pretend. . . 1) you are a bear (don't forget to growl) 2) you are an elephant (big steps and sway your trunk) 3) you are a lion 4) a worm 5) a frog 6) dinosaur (if the children know the difference try to suggest a couple different types) 7) a rabbit 8) a horse 9) a duck 10) a monkey 11) a butterfly 12) a jellyfish (thank goodness for finding Nemo) Different Ways to Walk Try to walk all the disserent ways: on heels, on toes, forward, backward, quickly, slowly, laft, right, standing tall, bent over, arms in front, arms behind, hands on head, hands on toes, with a partner, alon, in a line, in a curved line. Add music. CAT AND MOUSE A cat and a mouse are chosen. The rest of the players form a circle with the cat outside and the mouse inside. The game starts off with the following conversation: Cat: "I am the Cat" Mouse: "I am the Mouse" Cat: "I'll catch you" Mouse: "You Can't" Now the cat begins to chase the mouse in and out of the circle. The players all try to help mouse by letting him go through their line. But they try to keep cat from breaking through. When mouse is finally caught, he joins the circle. Then the cat becomes the mouse for the next game, and a new player is chosen for the cat. OBSTACLE COURSE You can boost your child's agility by turning your environment into an obstacle course. Your course might consist of the following kinds of challenges: crawling under or over, sliding, slithering, stepping, jumping, hopping, tightrope walking, dodging, or rolling. The possibilities are endless! A WATER WINDMILL Half fill a pail (with handle) with water. Hold the pail in your hand. Hold your arm straight down by your side. Keeping your arm straight, swing the pail around and around in a circle. No water should spill, if pail is kept moving like a windmill. KNOTS The group stands in a circle, shoulder to shoulder. They put their hands into the center of the circle. Everyone grabs hands with another person, but not the people beside them. The object of the game is to untie the knot which is formed. SARDINES One person hides. The rest go looking for him, and whoever finds him, instead of revealing his hiding place, hides there with him. As the hiding place gets more and more crowded, you will understand why the game is called "Sardines". The last one to find the hiding spot is the first to pick the next hiding spot. RELAY RACES Mark off a race course between two goal lines. Now choose teams. The players line up as they are chosen and they perform in turn. Each team must have players run the length of the course and back. Ideas: Run a three-legged relay race, run a wheelbarrow race, run backwards, hop on one foot or two, or crawl RED LIGHT One player is chosen to be the Red Light. The rest all line up at a starting line. Red Light stands some distance in front of the players with his back to them, and count rapidly to ten. When he reaches ten, he shouts, "Red Light" and turns around. While is still counting, all the players run toward him hoping to tap his back and start back to the goal line before he finishes. But when he says "Red Light" all must stop absolutely still. In a moment he says, "Run". Now everyone runs for the goal with "Red Light" in pursuit. If he catches someone, the player must be the Red Light in the next game. CAPTURE THE FLAG Object of the Game: To find and capture the flag of the opposing team and return it to your territory, without being touched. At the same time, each team tries to protect its own flag. If a player crosses into the opponent's territory and is touched by a player on that team, he becomes a prisoner and must sit near the opponents' flag. A teammate can free prisoners by sneaking in and touching them. The rescuer and rescued players must return to their side before attempting to capture the flag. CATCH THE TAIL Players hold on to one another at the waist in a line formation. The end of the line tries to avoid bing caught by the leader. The last person in line has a handkerchief in his back pocket. If it is successfully removed the first player moves to the back and the game continues with a new leader of the line. Pass the Orange Don't use your hands! Line up in teams. The first person in each team is given an orange to place under his chin. He must pass the orange to the next in line but neither may use his hands. The first team to get the orange all the way to the last person is the winner. If the orange drops, just pick it up and continue from there. Push the Peanut Give each racer a toothpick and a peanut (in the shell). Their job is to use the toothpick to push and roll the peanut from the starting line to the finish line. This can be played on the floor or on a table. On the floor or carpet, you can mark the starting and finish lines with masking tape. On a table just go from one end to the other. Note: With younger children, you may want to use a cocktail straw instead of the toothpick to avoid any possible injuries during all the excitement. Missing Person The group is in a circle. One person, selected to be "it", turns away from the group and hides his eyes. Another member of the group leaves. The person who is "it" tries to guess who is missing. If he is having trouble, he can ask for clues to help him guess. Body Challenges Nose Challenge - Lie on back on the floor. A coin is places on nose. The challenge is to get the coin off by wiggling nose, but without moving head. Shoulder Challenge - A potato chip or cracker is placed on shoulder, whilestanding. The challenge is to remove the chip with tongue. Peanut Challenge - On hand and knees, a peanut is placed on the floor. The challenge is to move the peanut across the floor using only your nose. Telephone One person is chosen to be leader. The rest of the group sits in a circle. The leader whispers a sentence to the person beside them. The message is whispered around the circle passed from one child to the next. The last player in the circle says out loud what they have heard. Rain The group sits in a circle. The leader starts by rubbing his hands together. The person to the right does the same, the person to the right, and so on until everyone is doing the action. When all are rubing their hands, the leader starts a new sound, finger snapping, then hand clapping, next slapping thighs, try foot stomping. To end the storm, reverse the actions. At the end, the group, one by one stops rubbing hands and sits and waits for action to be completed by the group. Backwards Names Each person writes their name backwards on a file card. The cards are put in a pile in the centre of the group. In turn, each person picks up a file card from the pile, and reads out what it says. The group must guess whose name itis that is backwards JACOB AND RACHEL Jacob and Rachel are selected and blindfolded and sent to the middle of the circle. Everyone on the outside holds hands. Whenever Jacob calls out Rachel, Rachel must respond by calling out Jacob. Jacob must try and capture or tag Rachel. Rachel must try to avoid Jacob. The Ocean is Calm Children sit scattered around the play space on geometric shapes. Without telling the others, each child is assigned a creature that lives in the ocean on the back of their mat. One player is chosen as the fisherman. The Educator calls out "the ocean is calm". The Educator calls out "the ocean is calm". Moving around the play space, the fisherman calls out names of various fish or sea creatures (shark, eels, clams, squid..etc.). When a player hears the name of the creature they have chosen he gets up and walks behind the fisherman. When most of the players have been called out, the Educator calls out, "the ocean is stormy". At this, all the children sitting already caught must find new seats. The child without a seat becomes the next fisherman. Oh - Ah Start with everyone in a circle holding hands. One person gives a quick squeeze to the hand of the person on his right. The squeeze is passed from person to person around the circle until it is moving smoothly. Now add sound. Squeeze and say "ooh" and watch it go around. Next add "ah", but with a left exchange, the sound get sent along their respective ways. Tag One of the simplest back yard games. Choose a player to be It, then choose a tree, step, rock or anything you can think of to be base. The idea of the game is for the person who is "It" to touch the other players before they reach the base. If the person who is It tags you, then you are now It. Blind Mans Bluff This game does not really have an object, but it is lots of fun. One person puts on a blindfold while the others spin him around a few times. Then, the blindfolded person is led around the yard in windy circles, etc. for as long as the other players feel necessary until they get to their destination point. The blindfolded person then gets to guess where he is and then has his blindfold removed to reveal his location. Quiet Games ARTISTS The first player draws any detail of the future picture on the sheet of paper so that the other players can't guess what is drawn. Then this sheet of paper is given to the next player. He/she continues to draw. Each player has a felt-tip-pen of his/her own color. The sheet of paper is returned to the first player. He/she says what he/she intended to draw. MERRY TRAIN This game is enjoyed by grown-ups as well as by children. Get ready the cards with the tasks beforehand. At the party suggest your guests to travel by "the merry train". All the guests who sit at the table are passing the envelope with the cards around the table. While passing the envelope they all together recite any poem about the train. As the rhyme finishes, the guest who has the envelope in his/her hands must take a card with the task out of the envelope. Samples of tasks for children: 1. Sing a song. 2. Say to the player next to you on the right: "What wonderful ears you've got!" 3. You are a kangaroo. With the small box between the knees jump around the table. 4. Draw a horse, being blindfolded. 5. Say any tongue twister 3 times. 6. Sit on a stool. Grab a small box which stands at one of the hind legs of the stool with the teeth. (Do not touch the floor with the hands and feet!) 7. You are a butterfly. Show how you fly! 8. You are a bird. Show how you brood, how you fly for the feeding, how you feed the nestlings. 9. You are a rooster. Show how you dig the ground, find the corn and call the hens. 10. You are a train. Show how you get in and depart. 11. Put three candies into the mouth. Eat them! 12. Receive a prize! Samples of tasks for grown-ups: 1. Tell a funny thing. 2. Perform a dance of little swans ("Swan Lake") 3. Sing a song. 4. Kiss the guest next to you on the right. 5. Perform a lezginka dance sitting on the chair. 6. Pay a compliment to a hostess. 7. Persuade the guest next to you on the right to drink a glass of wine. 8. Organize a choir out of all the guests. Sing a couplet of any song in a choir. 9. Make an appointment for any of the guests. 10. Give a smile to all the guests. 11. Eat lemon slices smiling! 12. Drink a wine-glass of tea with pickled cucumber and say how tasty it is. 13. Propose a toast to all the present guests. WHAT IS THE PAGE? This game is similar to the previous one. But instead of the box you may use a thick book, tied round with a cord. Somewhere in the middle of the book the players can see a bookmark. They must answer at what page there is the bookmark. The player whose answer is the most exact is the winner. SNOUT Draw a big muzzle of the pig without a snout on a large piece of thick paper. A snout must be cut out of paper separately. The player is blindfolded and put at the little distance from the picture. The object is to come to the picture and put the snout at the place it should be. The player who does it the most accurately wins. HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO BE AN ANIMAL The instructor asks the players to remember the sounds of different animals. The players must pronounce these sounds at the instructor`s command. The instructor: "How wonderful it is to be a dog! The players: "Woof, Woof!" The instructor: " How wonderful it is to be a duck!" The player: "Quack! Quack!" Each of the players may make sounds only if the instructor points at him/her. If the player loiters he/she is out of the game. The game is over when there is only one player in it. SPOILED TELEPHONE All the players sit in a row. The first player on the left side whispers something in his neighbor's ear. The latter transmits it to his neighbor's ear and so on. The first player on the right side announces aloud the word or the phrase that came to him. Then the player who started the game announces the word or the phrase with which he began the game. At times the distortion may be very funny! After each "call" the players must exchange their seats so as everybody can act as the first player on the left side and the first player on the right one. ELEPHANT The leader gives to each team a large piece of thick paper. Being blindfolded the teams collectively draw an elephant. The first player in each team draws the body, the second draws the head, the third-legs etc. The team which finishes the drawing the first and whose drawing is the most accurate becomes the winner. FORFEITS One of the players is enumerating the letters of the alphabet to himself. Then he/she is stopped. The letter at which he/she is stopped is the initial letter in this game. For example, the first player is stopped at the letter "N". So he/she says aloud that he/she is stopped at the letter "N" and pronounces any word which begins with the "N", C.f. nose. (Mind, that the players mustn't use personal nouns). The following player says - name, the third-news etc. If someone cannot remember the word which begins with "N", he must "pay off", i.e. to recite a poem or to tell a funny story. It he/she feels too shy to do it he/she gives his/her forfeit (a pen, a handkerchief etc) and drops out of the game. So the leader gathers the forfeits. The last player who remains in the game is called "a wordexpert". He must set a certain forfeit for each player. "The word expert" turns his back to the players and the leader asks him/her to set forfeits. Holding each forfeit above the head of "the wordexpert" the leader asks: " What will this forfeit do?" Every player remembers what to do. As a forfeit you may say a tonguetwister, recite a poem, Sing a song etc. After setting the forfeits the players begin to carry out the orders in turn. CITIES The object is to name as many cities beginning with the letter "A" as possible. The player whose variant is the last is the winner. When there are no more variants the leader begins to count: c.f. Amsterdam - one, Amsterdam - two, Amsterdam - three. Amsterdam wins! FROM CITY TO CITY The players get into a circle. The leader begins to name the cities. He/she, for example, says: "Moscow". The player next to the leader names the city which begins with the last letter of Moscow - "W". He/she says: "Warsaw". The next player says, for example, "Washington". Then the players name, for example, Novgorod, Dublin, New York etc. Each player has 3 seconds to think over his/her variant. If he/she can't remember the name of the city in 3 seconds he/she is out of the game POT OF GOLD You say, "If I found a pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow, I'd buy this..." Then you show by acting out what you would buy. The others try to guess what you bought, and the first one to guess becomes the new actor. THE PASSING GAME The leader suggests an imaginary object to be passed around in a circle. This object to passed around can be a pea, a huge balloon, or a sack of potatoes, for example. The object is passed around from person to person and the idea is to try to keep it from falling, and to indicate its size and weight by the action. The Quiet Olympics Discus Throw: Use a paper plate Shot-put: Use a balloon Track race: Each player lines up at the start line and race by placing the heel of one foot against the toe of the next. The first one to the end of the track and back wins. High Jump: Each contestant takes a deep breath and whistles. The contestant who holds the note the longest wins. High Dive: Each player stands on a chair with ten clother pins and drops them into an empty bottle. The player that gets the most wins. Who is the Leader? "It" leaves the group while the rest choose an action leader. When "it" returns all the players in the circle are making the same motion as that started by their learder. The leader constantly changes the motion and the group does likewise but they never look at the leader in such a way as to "give him away". "It" gets three guesses to determine who is the leader. Individual Hopscotch Child or adult draws 10 squares connected to one another to form the hopscotch court, and fills it in with numbers 1-10. Then find a piece of wood or other material suitable for a "puck". The player tosses his puck into space #1, hops in after it, and kicks it into space #2, and so on until he reaches #10. Now he changes feet and kicks the puck back from space to space in the same way until he finally reaches space #1. Doggie Doggie, Who has the Bone? A child is picked to play the part of the dog. He or she sat ion a chair with their back to the group. An eraser or another object was put under the chair. That was the bone. While the dog was turned around with his or her eyes closed someone would sneak up and steal the bone and hide it somewhere on his person. Then everyone would sing: Doggy, Doggy, where's your bone? Somebody's stole it from your home. Guess who it might be. Then the dog has three chances to guess who took it. If the dog guessed right then he got to do it again. If he guessed wrong than the person who had the bone got a turn as the dog. |
Prop Box Resources Include the following collections of objects and materials for children to create, discover, and use for imaginary play. Store collections in boxes or baskets to be accessible at any time (indoors or outdoors) for children to enhance their play. Mats Balls - a Varity of Sizes, Textures and Shapes Wide Paddles or Rackets Parachute Climber Rocking Boat Stairs Slides Hoops Jump Ropes Tricycles Roller Boards Wagons Play Mats - Hopscotch, Twister Balance Boards and Walks Baskets/Bins to Throw into Beanbags Ring Tosses Scarves or Streamers Musical Instruments Large Shape Cutouts to Place on the Floor for Movement and Pathway Activities |
| Have you Tried? Running Walking Climbing Tumbling Crawling Hopping Balancing c.2005 - 2008 |
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| Curriculum Resources Art Dramatic Play Prop Boxes Fine Motor Games Language Math Music Outdoor Play Quiet Time Recipes Science/Sensory Fine Motor Themes MY BOOKS |
| "In every mind there are widening regions of creativity if once the spark
has been allowed to generate the fire." |
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