Physical activity is an important part of play and learning. And when children do physical activity with you or other people, it can be a great way for them to build relationships in your family and community.
Physical activity is also just good fun for children.
"Red Light, Green Light" gets a makeover with Vroom!
Babies enjoy being active from birth. Before babies begins to crawl, they can be encouraged to be physically active by reaching and grasping, pulling and pushing, moving their head, body and limbs during daily routines, and during supervised floor play, including tummy time. Here is a fun activity from Vroom....
Vroom tip #845 The Mountain and Tunnel
Lie on the floor and invite your child to crawl across your tummy as you sing, “(your child's name) went OVER the mountain.” Now count how many times they climb. Then make a tunnel, crouching on your hands and knees, and sing “(your child's name) went UNDER the tunnel.” Take turns being the tunnel and the mountain again.
What your child is learning: Children learn best through experience and here they're learning about the concepts of “over” and “under” by physically experiencing them. They're also learning by pretending—that your tummy can represent a mountain and your arms and legs can represent a tunnel.
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Vroom Tip #479 Foot Walking
Before you put on your child’s shoes, have them go foot walking with you by putting their foot on top of yours and walking together. Can you walk fast and slow? Make up word games for foot walking, like, “go, go fast, fast; go, go slow, slow.”
What your child is learning: Foot walking helps your child improve their balance. It also helps them learn about size—your feet are bigger, theirs are smaller—as well as about speed. Together, you can go faster or slower.
Make an obstacle course today! Line up a few pillows for a jump or go under the table as a tunnel. Lines on the floor could even become a tightrope. Try one or two of these and then add on some of your own! Talk to your child about what they're doing as they do it!
What your child is learning: As your child moves around the obstacle course, they're learning ideas like over, under, into, along, up, and down—all through their senses. They're also gaining control of how and when they move, which is an important step in building self-control.
Make a line on the floor with colored tape, string, or use the lines in the sidewalk. Ask your child to walk the line with one foot in front of the other and then walk the line in different ways—hopping, skipping, or walking on tiptoe. How fast and slow can they go and still stay on the line? Take turns!
It takes focus and self-control for your child to walk on the line. When you challenge them to move in different ways, they must work even harder to control their body and think flexibly to adjust to these new ways of moving.
Find more ways to have fun using lines of painter or masking tape here!
