Push around

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Age
3-5 years
Child Development
Support activity with talk and sign (describing actions)
Equipment
1 ball
Bean bag or soft toy
Plastic hockey stick or rolled up newspaper
Physical Activity

Developing movement skills (eye-foot coordination, ball control); developing social skills (turn taking, cooperation)

How to Play
  1. Holding onto the stick with two hands, the children push the ball or object along the ground, moving around the whole area.
  2. Draw lines on the ground to make a “race track” for them to follow.
Change it up / Alternatives / Additional Options
  • Instead of using a stick, the children can tap a ball gently with their foot to move around the area. Create an obstacle course for some extra fun and challenge.
    • Encourage the children to describe out loud progress around the course: “around the bucket, then over to the cushion, next between the stuffed bears, etc.”
  • Play follow-the-leader. Go where the leader goes; stop your body and the ball when the leader stops. Take turns being the leader.
  • Challenge the children to move around the course in a different sequence, or pattern, each time; challenge them to circle around each object without the ball touching it.
  • Read the Mole Sisters and the Wavy Wheat by Roslyn Schwartz and talk about the directions the sisters take.

Excerpt from the HOP Early Learning Practitioners Resource (Decoda Literacy Solutions)