Moving Our Bodies Tips and Activities
Sesame Street in Communities
Physical activity is crucial for children’s growing bodies and minds. Being active together helps channel kids’ natural energy and keeps them healthy and strong. Our friends at Sesame Street in Communities have created useful tips and activities as part of their Moving Our Bodies initiative. Check out these ideas below to get children moving their bodies every day.
Kids don’t need a big outdoor space to move their bodies. Check out some tips below for getting moving in everyday areas:
On the Go
Instead of walking to the car, encourage kids to jump like frogs or hop like bunnies. Even when buckled into a car seat, kids can stretch: reach up high, twist from side to side to look out both windows, and reach down low to tickle their toes!
In Front of the Television
Turn commercial breaks into quick dance parties—get up and dance until the commercial is over!
In the Bedroom
Sometimes kids need to “shake out some energy” before getting into bed. Ask children to hop to your directions—hop on their left foot and then their right, from one side of the room to another or in place, in a circle or a line, and so on.
Mix up movement, math, and literacy skills with these healthy activities for kids. Try out the following activities:
Follow My Pattern
Take turns creating dances that repeat patterns—everyone else follows along! For younger children, keep the patterns simple (jump, wiggle, jump, wiggle). For older children, the pattern might be “jump, jump, wiggle, hop, jump, jump, wiggle, hop.”
ABC Stretch With Me
Draw a letter on paper, call out its name, and tell children to bend, stretch, and twist to form that letter the best they can. (Challenge older children to think of different words that begin with the letter while they move. Small groups may even spell out a short word, like “cat,” with their bodies.)
Move & Count
Invite children to move their bodies in a certain way, a specific number of times (“Hop 5 times…spin 3 times!”). With younger children, count out loud on your fingers as they follow your directions. With older children, you might use simple number sentences in your directions (“Hop 3 plus 2 times, how many hops in all? Spin 2 plus 1 times, how many spins in all?”).
To access the tips and activities, check out Get Moving Anywhere, Anytime! and Move & Learn.