Shapes with Elastics

Can you make a shape with three sides?

And upside down triangle.....and a right way up triangle

 Does anyone have a different shape with three sides?

A triangle where all the sides are the same length

What other shapes can be made?

A four sided shape

During this activity students exercised their mind and bodies. Spatial awareness, language, strength, flexibility, creative thinking, working in pairs.

Miss Vicky on holidays

With the Ballet concert over for the year, there are no more dance classes to attend. This morning, we had quite a leisurely Monday morning compared to the rush to get to dance lessons during the school term.

"Why is Ms Vicky on holidays? Why does she need a break?" inquired my Preshooler.

Fortunately, I was prepared for this moment and pulled out the Ballet conditioning DVD I bought at an opportunity shop.

We - my toddler, my preschooler and myself - all stood in front of the TV - in our pyjamas and barefoot (as recommended by Elise - the ballerina on the cover) and attempted some of the exercises. 

The pace was slow -  hence ideal for our purposes and I personally found it quite a good workout and enjoyed the ballet context of the exercises. I tried all the exercises and my Preschooler attempted the ones she had done in class with her teacher - as well as others I thought were safe and appropriate.

Our preschooler was impressed that the ballerina on TV was doing the same things as Ms Vicky; and the moves were performed nearly as well as her.

And my toddler loved attempting the arabesque.

So we may well be seeing Miss Elise on DVD every Monday morning.

Rock and Roll in Tuck sits

We have been practicing Tuck sits and V Sits. The natural progression is to rock back and forth gently using the toes to push off. Allow this to happen and build on this rocking action but encourage strong arms around the legs.

After several sessions of this, enough momentum can be built up which leads to rolling onto the back. With arms held tight around the legs, the back is nicely curved which allows for rocking forward after rolling backwards.

Build up the momentum first.

Give it a try yourself. It is a lot of fun.

Tuck sit and V sit

We have been very inspired here by the gymnastics, the diving and the athletics from the Commonwealth Games. It is such delight to see the positive impression it is making on our Preschooler.
While we watch the broadcast, we discuss the names of the skills being displayed and talk about how the athlete would have started to learn how to do it.

After watching some gymnastics today, we did some very basic static balances.....just to capitalize on the momentum. Strike while the iron is hot!

Doing Tuck sits and V sits at home strengthens and conditions the muscles in the body.

Tuck Sit; Bring knees to chest, and balance on sitting bones. Should be able to rock back and forth.

V Sit; sit with straight back and legs, form the letter V by engaging the stomach muscles.

I also talk about the persistence and the commitment required to be able to perform at an elite level.

There will be more toddler/preschool gymnastics over the next few days.

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...

We do lots of jumping here - a great way to spend energy and develop leg muscles at the same time.

Standing Broad Jumps are a great way to build power in the legs and is used as a measure of leg strength in fitness tests. It was once an Olympic event - and it is also a lot of fun.

I use anti-slip mats from the $2 dollar shop cut into shapes to cue the little ones to their beginning and landing positions when I introduce this. It helps to stop them from slipping upon landing, and since it is soft, it encourages landing with soft, well oiled knees.

Begin with two  feet together - slightly apart. Use arms to propel forward and push off on both legs, jump and land in front on both feet without loosing balance. The idea is to increase the distance traveled with each try. Experimentation with size of arm swing and angle of torso is encouraged.

Landing with soft bendy knees with arms in the the position of a motorbike rider is important.

We do this to the nursery rhyme and use a prop for the candle.

Give it a go yourself.
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Balloon Cover giveaway still available to the first two comments to come in - get in quick.

"No Chicken Wings"

I taught my Preschooler the chest pass just after her third birthday. As soon as she showed a hint of interest, I pounced on the opportunity.

I am often surprised by the number of 6, 7 and 8 year old girls fumbling and being ill at ease when they have a ball in their hands, so I wanted to get this one right for my preschooler. Girls who do not have sound ball skills by Year 3 show reluctance to take part in games and activities due to their feelings of incompetence.

I think the chest pass is the ideal starting point when it comes to the teaching of throwing.  Here is why.

Even in the first stage of learning this skill (cognitive stage), learners can use it in games and activities. It requires both hands and develops upper body strength evenly. It can be easily mastered and subsequently, gives the thrower a great early boost.

Some pointers:

• Choose a soft, light ball that is their chest size.
• Hold the ball with the fingers spread out and pointing up.
• Begin with the ball held at chest height and close to the chest.
• Keep elbows comfortably close to the body; "no chicken wings"

• Push the ball to the target.
• Point the fingers at the target after the ball is released.
• I would add "step when you throw" at Prep level or when outside (heavier) balls are used. This is where the weight is transferred from the foot at the back to the dominant foot out in front.

Some activities:

• Throw the ball against the ball; aiming at a target
• Play two-person poison ball - ask them to throw the ball at you...and if they hit you with it...it is a point to them. Change the rules to make it harder or easier as their skills progress
• .Throw whilst sitting, kneeling and standing and standing on one foot,  
• Throw for distance; measure the distance by doing the Heel Toe walk
• Always demonstrate and model the action - 'do as you  say/say as you do'

Good night Inchy Inchworm

I can imagine that just about now, bed time routines are being enacted in every household inhabited by toddlers, preschoolers and primary aged children.

Our bedtime routine involves; milk, teddy bear biscuit (or more than one if the behaviour warrants it) books - usually three - and occasionally some gymnastics.

I have been encouraging my Preschooler to do different 'animal walks' to build upper body strength. With Spring, comes many more opportunities to visit the park and make use of a wider range of equipment. Playgrounds for preschoolers provide greater and more exciting challenges.

So we have been preparing for it by building upper body strength - nothing too serious...just lots of opportunities to support her own body weight. Animal walks are great for this.

This evening, we said good night to our 'Inchy Inchworm'.

1. Begin with hands and feet on the floor as close together as possible.

Bottoms in the air and legs as straight as comfortably possible..

2. Keeping the feet still, walk the hands out until then are under the chest.

3. Now, keeping the hands still, walk the feet towards the hands.

4. Repeat

Tip Toe through the ...daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

-William Wordsworth-

Well... not quite a crowd yet...but that is the intention.

A crowd of daffodils - even better, a maze made of daffodils would be a lovely thing to tip toe through.

Tip toeing - preferably barefoot - is not only a fun way to get around, it is a great workout for the feet. It strengthens and conditions the muscles and soft tissues and in turn allows for the confident participation in a wide range of actions.

Why is it important? Many of our 206 bones are in our feet (and hands) - all connected and controlled by muscles and soft tissues. Our feet support our body weight. Tip Toeing and other exercises for our feet develops muscles and soft tissues used in actions beyond just walking.

Bouncing softly on the heels is also good exercise. It involves moving from a stationary position to standing on the balls of our feet and then gently lowering the heels to the floor. One that could be done while waiting for say...the toast to pop!

During the toddler and preschool years, let there be lots of (barefoot) tip toeing and soft heel bouncing.

(Making sure there is a path for tip toeing when all the daffodils bloom)

Integrated PE

Physical activity can be cleverly woven into many daily happenings.

We love 'story time' here and like many households, books are part of the 'going-to-bed' routine. But we also like to 'gather a crowd and read aloud' during the day. This is often followed by some form of story stretching activity. Many books lend itself to crafty adventures but I can often find some way to integrate PE into the session.

This is a favourite in many homes...and so I can imagine there are many different improvisations for each of the verbs used to cross the obstacles.

Incidentally, I would be interested to know what readers use for each of the scenes; scarves for the grass, a heap of cushions/river, beanbags/mud, furniture/forest, imagination-noise/wind, blanket/chairs for the cave.

But whenever we read this book aloud, we pay extra attention and take turns to role-play the bear. Getting around on hands and feet (same leg/arm) is one of many methods of locomotion that develops leg flexibility and arm/torso strength.

If enthusiasm and time permits, we go on 'seal' hunts (straight arms and hands turned in toward each other with dragging the legs along, crab hunts (on hands and feet but facing up - walking sideways) and Monkey hunts (same as bear but with opposite arms and legs). Of course, the bear, crab, seal and monkeys are always friendly and everyone goes home happy at the end of our stories.

Happy Bear hunting.

Stars and Rockets

Hello Blog world...

This is my very first post...and if things go well for us I shall be here week-daily with an update of the PhysEd fun we have here. I am committing to this blog for a year and in that time, I hope to lay out some semblance of a course for PE at home for parents to use as a guide.

And so I am beginning with 'Stars and Rockets'. When my daughter was two and a bit she eagerly copied and remembered how to make her body into the shape of a star and a rocket. Toddlers are very keen to please and love to model. Initially, pointers were required to assist her to straighten her arms and keep her back straight, but now at the age of four, she can very confidently get into and hold these positions.



Why did I bother to do this? Well, it develops body awareness, strength, posture.... and when my daughter started ballet and swimming lessons, these positions were often used in the instructions. The confidence derived from knowing what to do and understanding directions gives the learner a tremendous boost. Knowing the basics allows them direct their energies to build upon their skills.

The 'rocket' is standing with the feet together, arms held up straight above the head like a rocket. It is enough to aim for the biceps to be over the ears for preschoolers.


So, I am looking forward to teaching my 18month old son to do the same soon. It has had the unintended but fantastic benefit of streamlining the drying process once out of the bath/shower.