Movement Games for Preschool

Stimulate your preschoolers' minds and bodies with movement games that require them to be physically active. Childhood obesity rates are rising, creating a need to incorporate more movement in children's lives as soon as possible. In testimony posted at The Center for Disease Control's website, Dr. William H. Dietz summarized childhood obesity as "an epidemic in the United States." Teach preschoolers to create healthy habits by getting them involved in movement games.

  1. Hoop Obstacle Course

    • Make an obstacle course out of hula hoops. The hoops should be positioned so kids can hopscotch through them, roll under them, hurdle through them and balance on one leg in the middle of one. Kids will giggle when you add a funny song to the activity, such as "Boom Boom, Ain't it Great to be Crazy."

    Oldies but Goodies

    • Have children act out songs like "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush," "I've Been Working on the Railroad," "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," "Ants Go Marching" and "Waltzing Matilda." Kids can swing pretend mallets while working on the railroad, march like ants and learn to waltz with each other.

    Become Animals

    • Ask the children to move like their favorite animals. For example, they can move their heads like owls, jump like kangaroos or swing their arms like apes. Encourage them to try out a variety of animal movements by playing follow the leader while listening to Disney's "Lion King" song "In the Jungle." You could turn the activity into a parade by having each child pretend to be a different animal.

    Cup Races

    • Fill a water table with blue-colored water and separate kids into two teams. Name one team "fish" and the other team "crabs." Put stickers corresponding to the team names on large measuring cups. Give the first child on each team a small foam cup. Blow a whistle to start the game. Kids will fill their cups with water, run to the measuring cups and dump the water in. After every child has had a turn, compare the measuring cups. The team with the most water wins.

    Jump

    • Create different stations in the room revolving around jumping. Hang balls from different lengths of string from the ceiling at station one, and have kids jump to touch the balls. Station two is the long jump area. Place a piece of duct tape on the ground. Children should run up to the line and jump toward rows of colorful pillows. The final station is a balance trainer--a balance ball that has been cut in half and mounted on a stable surface--that kids jump off of.

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