As an early childhood professional, you’re well aware that physical activity helps with your students’ brain development.
This is due to the fact that when a child’s body is moving, it is sending signals to their brain, causing them to concentrate and think critically. Physical activity also helps build self-esteem, improve social and problem solving skills and relieve stress.
There are many different types of activities, such as dancing to music and playing with toys, you can include in your classroom schedule to keep kids on an exercise routine.
Below are a few ideas to help you keep them moving, mentally and physically:
- Have a dance party! Freeze dance is a fun game where kids dance until the music stops then they freeze. This will help test their reaction time.
- Animal races can educate kids while keeping them active. Have them make the noise of what the animal sounds like while racing to the finish line by how the animal moves, such as hopping like frogs or squatting and waddling like ducks.
- Hopscotch will test their counting skills while they jump. Use chalk or tape to make a game on your floor or outside your building.
- Hide clues around the classroom or outside so the kids can go on a scavenger hunt. Create teams so they can work together to find out where the next one is.
- For infants, sorting toys is a good way to help with critical thinking and problem solving. Give them toys with openings that they can put smaller objects into, such as a shape sorter.