by Rashmi Sharma | Apr 17, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Requirements
- Small hockey sticks (wooden or plastic)
- Plastic ball 8-10 cm diameter (e.g. street hockey ball)
Instructions
- Create two small goals in your driveway, patio, or hard surface at a local park.
- Play a simple game of one-against-one hockey with your toddler.
- Allow your child to score goals for encouragement.
Variations
- Show your child how to “stickhandle” the ball with small touches that change the ball direction
- Create a big goal and act as goalkeeper so your child can attempt to score on you
Benefits
This activity develops hand-eye coordination and timing while using a hockey stick (i.e., striking tool). These skills also transfer to striking with a bat or racquet.
by Rashmi Sharma | Apr 17, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Requirements
- Small hockey sticks (wooden or plastic)
- Plastic ball 8-10 cm diameter (e.g. street hockey ball)
Instructions
- Create two small goals in your driveway, patio, or hard surface at a local park.
- Play a simple hockey game with two or three children per team.
- Adult can play as a passing player who models good team play.
Variations
- Show children how to “stick handle” the ball with small touches that change the ball direction
- Create a big goal and act as goalkeeper for your children to take turns shooting at you
Benefits
This activity develops hand-eye coordination and timing while using a hockey stick (i.e., striking tool). These skills also transfer to striking with a bat or racquet.
by Rashmi Sharma | Apr 17, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Requirements
Instructions
- Either indoors or outdoors, show your child a balance pose, and encourage your child to imitate you as you hold the pose.
- Stand up on the tips of your toes, arms stretched straight overhead.
- Stand on one leg, other leg bent at the knee, arms raised straight sideways like wings.
- Stand on one leg, arms raised straight sideways like wings, bend forward at the waist, and lift rear leg (airplane pose).
- Stand on all fours, head down, rear in the air (downward dog pose in yoga).
- From all fours, raise and hold one leg high in the air.
- From all fours, raise and hold one arm high in the air.
* Adjust the difficulty of the pose according to age and ability of your child.
* Invent other balance poses together—use your imagination!
Variations
- Whenever you pose standing on one leg or one hand, be sure to repeat the same pose standing on the other leg or hand (develop ambidexterity).
Benefits
This activity develops coordination and balance.
by Rashmi Sharma | Apr 16, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Requirements
Instructions
- Either indoors or outdoors, pretend to be different animals with your child.
- Flap your arms like bird wings and “fly” around obstacles.
- Hop on all fours like a frog, and say “Ribbit-ribbit-ribbit”.
- Hop on two legs with feet together, and pretend to be kangaroos.
- Bend your knees, walk with your legs far apart, and swing your arms like chimpanzees.
- Walk on feet and hands and pretend to be a reptile.
- Walk on hands and knees and pretend to be kittens saying “meow”.
- Slide on the floor or ground and pretend to be snakes saying “hiss”.
- Invent other animal ideas and noises.
Variations
- Ask your child to suggest an animal that you can both imitate
Benefits
This activity develops coordination and balance as kids try to imitate the movements of different animals.
