Activities for Kids at Home and School

Kids need to keep active and play is one of the best ways to guarantee this in your elementary ages. This may sound obvious, but with busy schedules and a sit-down culture, activity can't be stressed enough. Neurologically, play is also important for synapses to fire in early development. This is why stimulating play with babies is so important alongside bonding.

There are basic movement activities for kids at home and school which are highlighted in the textbook Active for Life: Developmentally Appropriate Movement Programs for Young Children by Stephen W. Sanders. He takes the fundamental activities of catching, throwing, jumping, and so on, and expands on creative play with children primarily in a classroom environment. His book prompted some of my own ideas that you can use at home as a parent or caregiver, or as a teacher or aide in a school setting.

Spatial Activity

One of my favorites from Sanders' book is what he calls, "Learning to navigate space: Camping in the Great Outdoors." This would most likely take place at school or with a large neighborhood group of kids at home. The kids will do such activities as "take a hike," "climb a mountain," "jump in a lake," and prepare for a "bear scare." Sanders suggests using cones or milk jugs for hiking around or up the mountains, hula hoops or carpet squares for lakes, and a parachute or bed sheet for the bear scare. The kids hide under the parachute when the adult yells "bear scare!"

I've seen this activity done with other props which you can find at home or school. The more the merrier, too. Younger kids can follow an adult or just go with the flow in jumping in and around soft floor squares with rubber backing so they won't slide. An adult calls out the directions, "Go for a hike!" and kids follow in and around foam wedges. This is a fun activity with everything laid out on the floor ahead of time so the kids have to find the right obstacles. They follow the directions and navigate their space accordingly.

Balancing

Activities for balancing may include an actual balance beam on the floor, but railroad ties also work if they do not have too many splinters. For smaller kids, string laid out and taped to a floor is a great practice tool to follow. They can play circus tight rope and dress up like clowns. Parents can buy snow cone machines for relatively cheap and have a neighborhood party. At school, teachers usually have access to a gymnasium with mats and play structures to aid in balancing activities. The outdoors is a great way to practice with preschool children by walking around the school and avoiding puddles, cracks in the sidewalks or rocks on the pavement.

Jumping

Jumping activities can range greatly by creativity. Kids can jump over or the length of objects, as well jumping under or next to tall objects. One simple activity is to have kids help measure themselves by standing against a wall that has a paper marker as tall as they are. Place the paper marker on the floor after marking their height, then see who can jump their height. Kids can also incorporate the spatial activity into this by jumping over the foam mountain wedges or across the lakes. They can also jump into the bed sheet or parachute or jump under it with teamwork. At home or at school, it keeps them moving and jumping uses more energy and large muscle groups than walking.

Catching

Bean bags are great for this activity, especially at home where objects may be easily broken indoors and throwing is not encouraged. Sanders also suggests using scarves, which can be great for beginners who may be a little fearful. Again, creativity can play a big role in this type of movement by adding music or encouraging performance. Each kid who catches the object can recite something they are learning in school, sing or dance, or stand in place and throw the object up to catch it themselves before throwing it to the next child. Catching should be practiced often, especially for those who may be afraid. The more early practice a child receives at home or at school, the more confident they will become when learning new activities.

Throwing

Throwing is practiced for learning accuracy and striving for distance. Instead of using people as targets, kids can throw beanbags or other objects into various sized containers spaced at different lengths, much like at a carnival. This skill will hit on both accuracy and distance at once. Playing horseshoes is another great tool, especially at home where it is most often played in the backyard. At school you may want to try different weighted objects, such as balloons versus a footfall. Later as kids develop these skills, they can move onto batting or kicking.

With just five simple basic skill activities, kids can keep moving at home or at school in a variety of creative settings with only a few props.