MOVING and GROWING EXERCISES

MOVING and GROWING
Author/Source Unknown
Exercises and Activities for Twos, Threes and Fours

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

My Body

To increase body awareness, ask your child to * name his body parts * lift, hide, or move different parts of his body; melt like an ice cream cone; pop like popcorn;

* move body parts in different ways - waving, shaking, swimming, tapping, rubbing, patting, pointing, wiggling, clapping, grasping; for example, swing and sway arms like an elephant's trunk or shake tail like a wet dog;

* place an object (bean bag, fluff ball, paper ball) between his feet or hands; under his body;

* Follow actions of the verse "Me"

Two little eyes
That open and close
Two little ears but just one nose
Two little shoulders
One on each side.

Two little arms to open wide
Two little hands
Busy all day
Two elbows that bend
They're made that way.

Two little feet so sturdy and strong
And two little legs
That run all day long.

What Can Body Parts Do?

Have your child stand in front of you and imitate your movements. Select a part of you body to exercise. For example, talk about the actions feet can do.; feet can wiggle, curl and stretch, tip toe, stamp, kick, tap, circle, walk, run, hop, skip or, better still, can even dance around the room.

Action Poems

Have your child perform the movements as directed by these poems. Read the poem aloud, talk about the words and actions, then read again while performing. Memorizing the poem makes it more fun.

Thumper, bumper,
Rough and tough,
Crasher, smasher
That's enough!
Lightly, sprightly,
Soft as mice
Creeping, sleeping...
That's nice!

Bouncing, bouncing, up and down
Bouncing, bouncing, turn around
Bouncing, bouncing, be a clown
Bouncing, bouncing, hit the ground!

Over and Under

You can do these activities with your child encouraging, "over" and "under" movements. After your child does the activity, reverse roles. For example,

* Adult lies on floor. Child walks over adult. Reverse roles. Child lies on floor, adult walks over child.

* Adult balances on hands and feet facing floor. Child crawls under the bridge made by adult's body. Reverse roles. This is an interesting challenge for the adults. Try your best!

* Adult stands. Child crawls through legs. Adult's turn!

* Adult sits on floor with legs apart and straight. Child jumps over one leg and then the other leg. Reverse roles.

* Adult holds rod or wooden dowel at a low height. Child jumps or hops over the rod. Next!

Explore "over" and "under" by providing ropes, poles, hoops, blankets, and climbing equipment that enable your child to walk, run, climb and jump "over" and "under."

Zoo Loo

Move your bodies to imitate animals' movements. Musical accompaniment from percussion instruments or records will stimulate you to

* slither along the ground like a snake;

* stomp along like a big black bear;

* hop like a kangaroo that never stops;

* crawl along like a slow old turtle carrying his heavy house on his back;

* fly like a bird so high in the sky;

* climb like a monkey up in a tree;

* gallop like a horse crossing in a field.

Pathways

Create pathways with obstacles such as cones and chairs that your child can follow by walking, running, or steering a riding toy. Masking tape and rope pathways also provide challenges. Tape a pathway in a straight, angular, or curved pattern. Encourage your child to move, steer a riding toy, or push an object along the selected pathway.

YOU and ME EXERCISES

Lazy-Day Rest

Position: Lie on your backs on the floor, legs slightly apart, and arms limply at your sides.

Action: Take a deep breath, hold, relax. Pull your toes towards and then away from your bodies, hold, relax. Pull your tummies in, hold, relax. Pull seats together, hold, relax. Make a tight fist with your hands, hold, relax. With your hands at sides, shrug your shoulders, hold, relax. Smile while turning your head from side to side. Frown and repeat action.

Small Ball

Position: Kneel on the floor with your legs together.

Action: Rest your seat on your legs, lower your head to the floor, and tuck your hands to your side on floor, pointing backward. Take two or three deep breaths and blow it out. Relax.

Wash the Dishes

Position: Stand facing your child, holding her hands.

Action: "Wash the dishes, dry the dishes, turn the dishes over." Swing your arms side to side while singing the rhyme. On the word "over", swing your arms up overhead and turn your child around in a full circle so your arms are crossed. Repeat arm swings and rhyme and on word "over," return your child to original position (arms uncrossed). Repeat several times.

Angel-in-the-Snow

Position: Lie on your backs.

Action: Pretend to be in the snow and move your arms and legs "in" and "out" several times like an angel.

Note: This is a good coordination exercise and excellent lead in to jumping jacks.

Rocking Chair

Position: Sit on seats with your legs bent and your hands out to the side for balance.

Action: Tuck your legs into your bodies, wrap your arms around them, feet off the floor and rock forward, backward, side to side.

GAMES

* Active Games for Two or Three of You

Shuttle Race

Place two boxes 3 meters apart. Put several interesting objects in one of the boxes. On the signal "go", your child runs and takes an object from one box and places it in the other. Repeat until the box is empty. You may wish to talk about the objects in the box first, so his curiosity will not interfere with playing the game.

Sweep

Place the open end of a box towards the starting point 3 meters away. Give your child a broom or hockey stick to sweep or hit a ball or similar object into the box. Repeat several times.

Bean Bag Hit

Standing facing each other 3 meters apart. Place a large beach ball in the center between you and your child. Each person has a bean bag and tries to move the ball by throwing the bean bag at it to the other person's side.

Magic Carpet Ride

Child grasps sides of a gym mat, towel, or piece of thick plastic, while sitting in the middle of the mat. You pull the carpet around the area. This works best on a tile floor. You can also hold child by the feet if he lies down and legs are in the air.

Note: This game can be varied to include several children with one child sitting in middle of mat and other children holding side and moving mat around. Adult assistance will be needed.

Long, Long, Long Jump

The object of the game is to jump together as far as you can. You broad jump first. Your child starts where your heels landed and broad jumps. Continue taking turns. How far can you jump working together?

Simon Says

Stand facing each other. Your child says "Simon says do this" and performs an action. Adult imitates. However, if your child says "Do this" you must not imitate action. If you do, you change roles.

Passive Games for Two or Three of You

Number Shapes

To stretch muscles, increase balance and strengthen parts of the body, have your child form number shapes with his body. Diagram of these figures should be made to give visual clues. Attach examples to the floor or hold up for your child to view. The four-year old child does not know what they look like in various shapes so let him look in front of a large mirror so he can make his body the same shapes as in the picture.

*Submitted by Patrisha

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