by Santosh | Jun 11, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Movement skills/concepts
Balancing using equipment, body and space awareness.
Set-up
Hanging ropes with mats underneath.
Activity
On a hanging rope, children explore ways of balancing in an upright position.
Can you hang while …?
- supporting your weight with your hands
- supporting your weight with your hands and legs
- creating some basic shapes (e.g. wide, narrow, curled and twisted with your free body parts)
- creating symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes
Can you see …
- tight muscles
- tight grip on the rope
You could ask …
What do you need to do with your body to hold your position on the rope?
Variations
Inverted balance: If children have sufficient upper arm/shoulder strength, try an inverted balance on the hanging rope.
COOL DOWN/ CLOSURE
Review Skill/Activity, stretching, and questions.
by Santosh | Jun 10, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Movement skills/concepts
Cooperative balances, counterbalance, space and body awareness, and relationships (with others).
Set-up
Mats scattered in a defined area with an even surface.
Children in pairs, matched for height and weight, and with one mat per pair.
Activity
With your partner, children create a balance that has one wide and one narrow shape. Partners need to work together to partially support each other’s weight.
Children create different balances with their partner where they are partially supporting each other’s weight, then totally supporting each other’s weight.
Create a balance where one partner performs an inverted balance.
Can you see …?
- wide base of support
- extending body parts to counterbalance
- tight muscles
You could ask …
How can you safely support each other’s weight?
COOL DOWN/ CLOSURE
Review Skill/Activity, stretching, and questions.
by Santosh | Jun 10, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Movement skills/concepts
Dynamic and static balance, space awareness and relationships (with others and equipment).
Set-up
Beams/benches, mats, wobble boards, stilts, Swiss balls, box tops.
Small groups of no more than four, starting at different points of a circuit.
Activity
Children practise the following activities in the circuit.
Beam/bench station: Have three beams/benches at different heights. Children travel along the beam/bench using different locomotor skills (leaps, jumps, walking forwards, backwards, sideways). Then create a sequence (e.g. walk to the end, turn, scale balance, walk to the centre, do a cat leap, walk to the end, do a jump, quarter turn to land).
Balance on less stable objects: Have a wobble board (different heights and bases), stilts and balance (Swiss) ball. Children experiment with different ways of balancing on apparatus, using different body parts (e.g. standing, sitting, kneeling). Can you balance on the apparatus with your eyes closed?
Stationary balances on equipment: Have a selection of box tops. Children create a series of balances, without leaving the surface of the box, transferring from one balance to the next. Then create a sequence of balances on the box that includes: an approach (e.g. run, walk) to the box; a transfer (e.g. jump, step) onto the box; a series of balances on the box; and a dismount (e.g. straddle to land) from the box.
Inverted balances on ground: Try a cartwheel on the ground, on a line (it is like a handstand but sideways). Once their legs are in the air, children bring them together and twist the body so that they land to the left and right – sometimes this is called a round-off. Try a cartwheel with only one hand on the ground.
A floor routine: Have a mat area of approximately 6–10 metres square, space permitting. Children create a sequence that combines stationary balances and travelling movements (e.g. running, galloping, skipping). Include at least three balances, each with a different base of support; a minimum of three travels, with a change in direction and level; and one inverted balance. Have a beginning and an end shape.
Can you see …?
- tight muscles
- wide base of support
- slow control when engaging and disengaging
- arms extended for balance (counterbalance)
You could ask …
How can you safely control engaging and disengaging from a stationary balance?
COOL DOWN/ CLOSURE
Review Skill/Activity, stretching, and questions.
by Santosh | Jun 10, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Movement skills/concepts
Cooperative balances, counterbalance, space and body awareness, and relationships (with others).
Set-up
An area with an even surface. Groups of five or seven.
Activity
One child starts off the activity by selecting a balance with a wide base of support. In turn, each other child adds to the statue by slowly making another shape (wide/ narrow/curled/twisted) touching the first statue with one body part.
Once the group balance statue is complete, on a signal each child (except the first one) moves slowly away from the original single-child statue, using a locomotor or turning action.
On a signal, each child moves slowly back into the group statue, with well-defined shapes, and holds their balance.
On a signal, each child moves slowly away again, forming an individual statue by themselves with a base of support and a shape that is different from those used for the group statue.
Can you see …?
- tight muscles
- keeping still – like a statue
- smooth, slow movement
- counterbalance
You could ask …
What do you need to do to counterbalance?
Variations
Choose a theme and add a movement: Create the shape of an object and carry out the movements of that object (e.g. a washing machine).
COOL DOWN/ CLOSURE
Review Skill/Activity, stretching, and questions.
by Santosh | Jun 10, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Movement skills/concepts
Inverted static balance, body and space awareness.
Set-up
Wall, chairs, safety mats.
Mats are scattered in a defined area, with children sharing each mat.
Activity
Shoulder stand: Start in a crouched position with fingers touching the mat. Rock back so your bottom, then back, then shoulders touch the floor. Support your weight by bending your arms at the elbows and supporting your hips with your hands. Hold for 3 seconds and then slowly roll back into a crouched position.
Tripod balance: Start in a crouched position, make a triangle with your hands and head, and walk one knee and then the other onto your elbows. Weight is on the crown of your head, not your forehead. ‘Squeeze’ your fingers.
Handstand: Stand with your back against a wall. Beginning in a squat position, place your hands flat on the mat, keeping your arms straight. Walk up the wall then down, keeping a tight body.
Kick ups: Face the wall, one foot in front of the other (front–back stance). Lean forward and place your hands down on the mat, shoulder width apart and fingers pointing forwards. Using your back leg as a lever, kick your leg upward so that the weight is supported by your arms. Come down safely by twisting your trunk slightly to bring feet down in a new place.
Can you see …?
- wide base of support
- tight body
- control when engaging and disengaging
- support where needed
You could ask …
What do you need to do to balance in an inverted position?
What are some ways you can safely come out of a balance? Show me.
Variations
Inverted balance on equipment: Do a shoulder stand between two chairs. Make sure that the chairs are stable, and that support is available.
COOL DOWN/ CLOSURE
Review Skill/Activity, stretching, and questions.
