Movement Skill Activities for Toddlers

Printable version of Movement Skill Activities for Toddlers

Jumping Activities

Beans

How to play:

Explain to children the different types of ‘beans’ they may be instructed to be:

  • Jumping beans (jumping using both feet)
  • Beans on toast (get very small and curled up, then jump up)
  • Jelly beans (very wibbly wobbly jumping)
  • Hot beans (jump quickly)

Ask children to practice each one for a few seconds. The instructor then calls out different types of beans and children do  the actions.

Make it more fun: Children may like to make up their own beans.

Corners

Equipment:  Music and a plastic bottle.

How to play:

  1. Children jump around the room as the music plays.
  2. When the music stops everyone must jump to a corner.
  3. An Educator spins a bottle in the middle of the room.
  4. Whichever corner it points to is the winning corner (cheer/clap).

Make it more fun: Change up the way the children jump e.g. fast, slow, high, low, forwards, backwards.

Are children learning how to jump correctly?

When children are doing these jumping activities look for/remind children of the first few steps in the jump skill:

1. Eyes focused forward

2. Bend knees

3. Land on balls of feet

Throwing Activities

Go, Throw, Hello

Equipment:  Soft balls, bean bags or scrunched up paper and masking tape or chalk.

How to play:

  1. Select some walls in a room (or outside against a fence) as target walls and attach some large pieces of coloured paper or  cardboard as targets.
  2. Mark a throw line with tape or chalk a suitable distance from the targets.
  3. Have children form a circle in the middle of the space and place balls in the middle of their circle.
  4. On ‘Go’ children collect a ball and move towards the throw line where they aim for a target.
  5. After their throw they go back into the middle of the room and say ‘Hello’ to their friends while the balls are
    collected. Repeat.

Make it more fun: Ask children to find a friend and hold hands on the way back to the middle.

Clean Up the Rubbish

Equipment:  Scrunched up paper and safe, clean recyclable items, 3 hoops and 3 baskets.

How to play:

  1. Place the hoops on the ground.
  2. Scatter the scrunched up paper and recyclable items in each hoop.
  3. Place some baskets nearby.
  4. On ‘Clean Up The Rubbish’ the children must pick up a rubbish item from the hoop and throw it into
    one of the baskets.

Make it more fun: Create mini rubbish bins and recycling bins out of decorated boxes.

Are children learning how to throw correctly?

When children are doing these throwing activities look for/remind children of the first few steps in the throw skill:

1. Eyes focused on the target

2. Stand side on to target

3. Step forward with foot opposite to throwing arm

Balancing Activities

Guarded Treasure

Equipment:  Some ‘treasure’ objects.

How to play:

  1. Pick one child to be the ‘guard’ who stands at one end of the room with some ‘treasure’ in between their feet.
  2. Everyone else lines up at the opposite end.
  3. When the guard is facing away, everyone else tries to sneak up close enough to steal the treasure.
  4. If the guard turns around everyone needs to freeze with their arms out in a T shape (and one foot up for older toddlers).
  5. If the guard sees someone moving then they have to go back to the starting line.
  6. If a child gets close enough, they grab the treasure and run back to the start line.

  7. The guard chases and if the child gets back to the start line without being caught they become the next guard.

Make it more fun: Use a craft activity to make some treasure.

Rocket countdown

How to play:

  1. Everyone balances with their arms out in a T shape and eyes closed (or one foot up for older
    Toddlers).
  2. Children count 3, 2, 1…blast off! Then open their eyes and raise their arms straight above their
    heads.
  3. With arms still above their heads, children count 3, 2, 1…coming down! And move their arms
    back to the T shape before giving them a wriggle and repeating.

Make it more fun: Children could run around the room or space before coming back down.

Are children learning how to balance correctly?

When children are doing these balancing activities look for/remind children of the first few steps in the balance skill:

1. Non-support leg bent

2. Head stable, eyes focused forward

3. Trunk stable and upright

Catching Activities

Scarf Juggle

Equipment:  Light weight scarves of fabric.

How to play:

  1. Give each child a scarf.
  2. Ask children to throw their scarf into the air and to try and catch it before it touches the ground.
  3. After a few goes of this encourage children to throw the scarf up and to clap before catching
  4. Lastly, pair up children and ask them to practice their catch by throwing their  scarf to each other.

Make it more fun: Have some music in the background and encouraging dancing between juggling.

Balloon catch

Equipment:  Balloons

How to play:

  1. Have children stand in a long line.
  2. Throw the balloon to the child at the start of the line.
  3. Once the child has caught it they turn to face the next child and throw the balloon. This step is
    repeated all the way down the line.
  4. The last child in the line then runs with the balloon to the front of the line. Repeat.

Make it more fun: Have two balloons starting at either end.

Are children learning how to catch correctly?

When children are doing these catching activities look for/remind children of the first few steps in the catch skill:

1. Eyes focused on the object throughout the catch

2. Hands move to meet the object