Requirements

• Gymnasium or outdoor space with hard ground surface, street hockey ball, hockey stick, standing targets (e.g. empty plastic bottles or yoghurt containers).

Instructions

1. Stand up the targets, 20-30 centimetres apart, in front of a wall.
2. Mark a shooting line about 2 metres from the targets.
3. Children take turns trying to knock over the targets by shooting the ball at them.

Variations

• If you want to make shooting easier, try using lighter, softer balls.
• Try using shorter, lighter sticks for greater control.

Benefits

This activity develops striking skills together with core strength.

Requirements

• Small indoor or outdoor space free of obstacles

Instructions

1. Teach your child the song “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”.
2. Show your child the movements that go with each of the words.
3. Touch each body part named in the song with the fingertips of both hands.
4. Make sure your child bends their knees deeply when they go down to touch their knees and toes.

Variations

• After your child has learned the song and the movements, try remaining silent for one body part each time you sing the verse – for example, “Head and [silence], knees and toes”
• Try singing the song and doing the movements at fast speeds and slow speeds
• Words:

Head and shoulders, knees and toes
Knees and toes, knees and toes
Head and shoulders, knees and toes
Eyes, ears, mouth and nose

Benefits

This activity develops coordination of legs, arms and torso, plus dynamic balance. These skills transfer to sports and activities that involve dynamic balance and coordination for lifting and lowering objects (e.g., weightlifting as a sport, and all daily lifting activities in general, plus combative sports such as wrestling and judo).

Requirements

• Floor space or open space outdoors
• Music (optional)

Instructions

1. Have your child find an open space on the floor or ground.
2. Tell your child to crouch into a ball (“seed”).
3. Tell your child to start “growing” like a flower. Rise up slowly and reach out with arms as if sprouting.
4. Try different plant “actions”:The wind blows: sway and wave armsPlant gets thirsty: droop over forwardNighttime comes: close arms like petals closingThe sun comes out: stretch arms upwardWinter comes: crumble to ground
5. Repeat as a different kind of flower, bush or tree.

Variations

• If you have a group, some children can be gardeners who walk around and “water” the flowers – they must make sure the flowers continue to grow – the children who are flowers should bend if they go too long without water

Benefits

This activity develops coordination and balance as kids try to imagine and imitate the movement of a flower as it grows and blossoms.

Requirements

• Large indoor or outdoor space free of obstacles

Instructions

1. Talk with your preschool child about horses. How do horses move?
2. Tell your child that you will practice galloping like a horse.
3. Show your child how to gallop.
4. One foot steps forward, and the trailing foot immediately “kicks” forward to almost touch the back of the front foot.
5. Ask your child to gallop with you around the house or playground.Tip: Make horse “whinny” noises as you gallop.

   Tip: If you have paper ribbon or streamers, take turns using them as horse reins – you can “pull” your child as you gallop, and your child can “pull” you as you gallop.

   Tip: Galloping comes before Skipping.

Variations

• Play “Follow the Leader” as horses – this makes galloping into a game

Benefits

This activity develops dynamic balance, coordination, and rhythm required for activities at older ages such as running, skipping, hopping, and dancing.

Requirements

• Ideally, more than one child

Instructions

1. Either indoors or outdoors, have your child “lead” you around, over, under and through obstacles.
2. If indoors, your child can lead around, over or under furniture (with your supervision and permission).
3. If outdoors, your child can lead around, over, under and through playground equipment, trees, and shrubs.
4. Encourage leaders to vary movements with walking, running, changing direction, stopping, and starting.
5. Ensure you are playing in a safe place. Do not play around cars or mechanical equipment.

Variations

• Have children take turns being the leader
• If you join the game as an adult, make sure the children take turns leading most of the time

Benefits

This activity develops leg coordination, dynamic balance, and speed. These skills transfer to sports and activities that involve dynamic balance and speed (e.g., soccer, basketball, hockey, volleyball, racquet sports, martial arts, dance).