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Sack Jumping
This is a great activity to do with your child and a group of their friends. Having a sack race is a fun, energetic and easy activity to help develop and promote physical skills and fitness.
THINGS YOU WILL NEED
- A wide open space, such as a backyard or grassy park
- Sacks (coffee roasting shops often give these away for free or for a very small charge) or you could use pre-loved pillow cases
- Lots of energy!
HOW TO DO IT
Help each child into their sack and let them practise jumping with it while holding onto the top edge. You can either set up a race for them or just let them jump around freely. Perhaps you could see who can jump the highest, the longest time or even the furthest. Another idea could be a game of ‘sack tag’, where one person is ‘it’ and they have to tag another person to become ‘it’, all the while remaining in their sack.
WHAT LEARNING IS OCCURRING
- Early maths concepts – height, distance and number of jumps
- How bodies work – trying different movements, such as sliding, shuffling and jumping. These movements all require coordination, balance and control
- The importance of fitness and having a healthy heart – try talking about what happens to your heart when you exercise, e.g. ‘Is it beating faster or slower?’ ‘Why do you think that is?
TIPS
- If the sack race is a hit,why not turn it into a sports carnival’, e.g. for an ‘egg and spoon race’, grab a spoon, a boiled egg or a small ball and see if you can balance it all the way to the finish line! Grab some old stockings or elastic and tie the legs of two children together for a ‘three-legged race’
- Remember to encourage and praise all children’s efforts and teach them good sportsmanship
Learn more about Physically Active Play with BestStart's 16 Areas of Play https://centres.best-start.org...