Summer is such an exciting time for children. It is time to get out, get some fresh air and get moving! These 26 activities are sure to keep children (and you!) moving and hopping! These activities can be enjoyed indoors and outdoors.
Moving Through the Alphabet from A- Z
Animal Walks: Have the children move like various animals to music.
Bean Bags: Play bean bag catch or balance bean bags on their heads, shoulders, elbow or foot.
Clap: Clap 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Try chanting numbers while waiting in line and have the children mimic your pattern or create new patterns.
Dance: Try up and down movements as you move.
Elephant Walk: "Can you make your feet big and slow and heavy while you swing your trunk?"
Fly, Flutter, and Float: Give children feathers to hold and wave or toss and watch how they flutter to the ground. Encourage children to imitate a feather.
Glide and Gallop: Glide side to side with one foot leading and the other moving to meet it and then switch to a gallop.
Hopscotch: Use chalk to mark an area outdoors or masking tape indoors.
Ice Fun: Create "ice skates" on children's feet with paper plates and let them slide across the carpet.
Jumping: Create an exciting obstacle course and have children jump over blocks, into hoops and from carpet mat to carpet mat.
Kookaburra: What is it? Try to find a picture of this bird and share this favorite song. (Kumbaya, too!).
Leap Frog: A great outdoor or indoor game that many have forgotten. Leaping across the room to music is great fun!
March!: Make homemade maracas and march to Mozart music.
Nutcracker: Tchaikovsky's music is a natural for all kinds of movement.
Over/Under, Out/In: It's time to explore opposites. Hap Palmer's "Circle Game" contains many opposites.
Pathways: Children can explore many pathways as they move in a straight, zigzag, or curved path from one area to another.
Quickly, Quietly and with a Quiver: How many different ways can you move? Practice and then create a chart of all the ways children think of to move.
Ribbon Dancing: Make ribbons from streamers stapled to straws or build a collection from ribbon scraps you have around the center.
Scarves: Especially great with classical music. Suggest places for the scarves in front, on the side, behind.
Tambourines: Set the tempo to move around the room. Tap quickly and lightly for fast, small steps or loud and slow for large, slow steps.
Under the Umbrella: Have children walk a masking tape tightrope as they use a small umbrella for balance like in the circus.
Vary Your Instructions: speak very quietly or very slowly. Use adjectives and add numbers.
Wheels on the Bus: A favorite. Try using a vehicle besides the bus and see what wacky variations you can come up with.
X Marks the Spot: Place a number of masking tape Xs on the floor. Children can have a treasure hunt, find the spot, "dig" and lift out buried treasure. Discuss what the children find.
Yarn: Have the children make shapes on the floor with their yarn and ask them to step inside their shape, walk on their shape, make their shape disappear, ect.
Zoo Animals: Let' all move like monkey's, ect.