FUNdamental Movements

I am a P.E. teacher writing in response to Mr. Gambetta\'s blog entry of Tuesday May 30th. I am developing a talk for the parent\'s association and was hoping that Mr. Gambetta would contribute his thoughts. The subject is "The Ten Best Activities/Games to Play with Your Child to Develop Athleticism\". I am hoping to encourage parents to play fun games with their young children (elementary school age) to develop their general movement abilities rather then hire coaches to give private lessons in specific sports. This was brought to a head when the parent of a five-year old asked me if I would give her daughter private lacrosse lessons over the summer to prepare her for the upcoming season. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most appreciated. Here are a few ideas. I will post a few periodically. Some of you out there will have better ideas. Remember the key here is FUNdamental!! Allow them to discover the dimensions of movments. Check out the book Gabbard, Carl., Leblanc, Elizabeth., and Lowy, Susan. (1987) Physical Education for Children-Building the Foundation, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Thismis a great resource.

I also recommend you go to SPARQtraining.com. I have worked on a youth movement DVD with them that incorporated these exercise. I am not sure if it is out yet.

Ladder Drills (Rhythm Footwork)

In and Outs (Jumping Jacks) – Start with hands on the hips and then allow them to take the hands off the hips

2 and One (Lead Right & left) – Two step in first rung one step in next rung. Alternate down through the ladder. Probably best to use half a ladder.

Red Light/Green Light

Start with regular red light/ green light. Then make it increasingly more challenging.

Stop on one foot.

Stop and turn (good to use when space is limited)

Stop and side step.

Eyes closed (walking)

Tag – on red light tag someone and both stop

Cone Drills

Place cones out randomly and have them touch the cones with alternate hands

Linear – Cones in a straight line ant about 3 yards apart

Random – Completely scattered random patterns. If possible use either different height or different colored cones to alternate touching.

Crawls

Bear Crawls – Start on all fours weight equally on hands and feet. Crawls forward, backward and sideways. Vary the speed and distance. Go from super slow (creeping) to very fast. Also play red light/green light crawling.

Cross Crawls (In Place) – Start on all fours weight equally on hands and feet. Start by lifting one arm out in front. Return that arm to ground, lift the other arm out. Repeat with each leg. Then left arm and right leg and then right arm and left leg. Challenge them by holding extended position
Running

Giant Steps – How few steps between two points ( 50 – 60 feet is best distance)

Baby Steps – How many steps between two points ( 50 – 60 feet is best distance)

Loud Steps – Cause an earthquake ( 50 – 60 feet is best distance)

Quiet Steps – (Sneaking up on someone)