Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Color Sort, Skip


The concept is SIMPLE, kids love to sort/match, kids love to move... add them together and what a good combo!

Materials -- 4 buckets of one of each color, then various objects of those colors. See picture below for ideas. I used bean bags, foam hands, relay baton sticks, fleece balls, plastic food, and shakey eggs.... However, the sky is the limit as to what you can use. Could even just use toys in the playroom or laundry? Feel free to comment below with additional ideas.

We created a home base, where the items were mixed together in a large laundry basket. Children were instructed to skip to each bucket, not run, not walk, but skip and drop one item in the correct colored bucket! If they are unfamiliar with skipping this is a great time to introduce this loco-motor skill or any other of your choice. Really young (18 months-3 years old) may need to simply sort the items, adding loco-motors might be too confusing.

Play several times :)








Monday, February 4, 2013

Tree Pose Freeze!

All you need for this game is enough vinyl spots (cloth placemats or carpet squares work good too) so each child has their own and music. I love "Under the Shady Tree" by Laurie Berkner Band.

Show students "Tree Pose" see yoga card in this post, if you are unsure. Instruct kids to dance around room (various locomotors: skip, hop, run, walk, crawl) then when music stops, find a spot and
freeze in tree pose. Hold tree pose until the music starts again. Lengthen and shorten the time of holding pose based on your group's abilities.

Great activity that requires listening, balance, and body control! A favorite for many ages.