Trike Traffic Town

May is National Bike Month. A fun way to celebrate with young children is to go outside and set up a Trike Traffic Town course on the blacktop or concrete using cones, traffic signs, chalk road markers, directional arrows and children on trikes, scooters or any favorite wheeled toy. (Don’t forget to provide each child with a properly fitted child-size or toddler-size helmet.) This activity also provides a perfect time to reinforce bike safety and the “rules of the road” on your playground.

Before children attempt pedaling through Traffic Town, teachers should ask them to stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the side of the course and watch as you direct one child in demonstrating the how-to’s of the course. Verbally describe directions for each part of the course, i.e., “ride around the cones,” etc.

Next, line up the first riders on their trikes, at the start of the course and tell them to follow the leader, while you guide them safely through the course. Emphasize that Traffic Town is not a race and they should not speed through the activities. Stress to the children to keep some space between them. If a traffic jam does occur, tell the children to please wait patiently and not to rush their fellow trike riders.

Materials Needed:
10 Colored cones
6 Cones with Holes,
6 Traffic Signs,
Arrow Spots
2 Nylon Jump Ropes
Bubble Wrap or Textured Packing Material
Sidewalk Chalk

Traffic Town Course

1. Put the GO Traffic Signs, in the hole in top of a cone. Children on trikes begin here. Teachers may want to stagger the starting time of each child.

2. Put ONE WAY Traffic Signs, in hole in top of a cone. Place the 6 Colored Cones about 4-6 feet apart from each other. Using Sidewalk Chalk, make directional arrows around the cones to make a zigzag slalom course. Following the arrows, the trike riders zigzag from the right of one cone to the left of the next, and so on until they complete the 6 cone slalom course.
3. Place 2 ropes horizontally on the ground, parallel to each other and 2-3 feet apart to create a crosswalk. Put the yellow School Crossing Sign in the hole in top of a cone. Set it in front and to one side of the ropes. The trike riders continue traveling but must stop and wait for “pedestrians to cross” (other children or parents/teachers.) If no one is in the crosswalk, riders can proceed forward over the ropes.

4. Place several long strips of bubble wrap on ground. Put the yellow SLOW Sign in the hole in the top of a cone. Set it in front and to one side of the bubble wrap. Tell children that there is “Roadwork in progress. It’s a bumpy road,” as they drive their vehicles over the bubble wrap.

5. Set up 4 colored cones side by side horizontally in the middle of the traffic town. Put the DO NOT ENTER Sign in the hole in top of a cone, and place it in front of the 4 cones. (Tell the children that “The road is blocked! It looks like there was a rock slide!”) Place the Arrow Spots on the ground in front and to the side of the cones, indicating the direction the drivers must turn to maneuver their trikes around the blocked roadway.

6. Put the STOP Sign in the hole in top of a cone. Here. “We’ve come to the end of Traffic Town. Let’s do it again!” Using the remainder of the Arrow Spots, direct trike riders back to the beginning of the course.

Children will want to repeat traveling this popular roadway over and over again. Be alert to children traveling too fast and not being able to manage the curves safely. Children at this young age are figuring out what their muscles can and cannot do.

This activity promotes...

Gross motor development (using the large muscles of the legs and arms)

Visual discrimination (ability to recognize the traffic signs and arrows to follow directions)

Bilateral coordination (using legs to pedal the trike and arms to steer the trike)

Spatial awareness (children moving in the space with other children on trikes)

Traffic Town also fosters cooperative play and turn taking as well as dramatic play while preschoolers pretend to be “drivers” and following the road.

Ducking Out of Duck, Duck Goose

The rules to play the traditional children’s game of Duck, Duck, Goose are generally that all players except "IT" sits in a circle. IT (sometimes called the "goose") walks around the outside of the circle, behind the players’ backs while tapping gently on each of the seated players’ heads, saying “Duck...Duck...Duck...” each time they tap a head. When IT taps a player's head and says, “Goose!” the new "goose" jumps up and chases the first child around the circle. If the new goose doesn’t tag the other child before s/he reaches the open seat in the circle, IT takes the place in the circle and the new goose resumes the game by tapping heads. (If the new goose did happen to tag IT, s/he gets back to his/her spot in the circle and the first child remains IT.)

However, I've noticed sometimes the person who is IT doesn’t just “tap” a child’s head gently, they “hit”! Also, children who don’t want to be “hit” may put their hands on top of their head and lower their heads into their laps. Other children may follow that child’s lead and then there are no heads to “tap,” indicating that no one wants to play the game.

I want to share with you what I feel is a more developmentally appropriate way for young children to play this game in an early childhood classroom or home setting.

A Tisket, A Tasket, My Fruit & Veggie Basket

Materials Needed:
Small basket filled with plastic fruits and vegetables
How to play:
1. Sit young children (players) in a circle.
2. One child is chosen to hold the fruit basket and walk around the outside of the circle, behind the players’ backs while the group chants:

A tisket, a tasket,
My fruit and veggie basket.
I went walking down the lane,
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it, I dropped it...

4. On the last verse, the child walking around the circle drops the basket behind a player’s back.
5. That player picks up the basket and runs after the first child, who is running back to the open place in the circle.
6. If unable to tag the player before s/he gets to the open spot, the new player holding the basket must now walk around the outside of the circle, dropping the basket of fruits and veggies behind someone who has not yet had a turn.
7. The game ends when every player has had a chance to hold and drop the basket.

Another way to play this game in a similar way is to have the first child hold a small cardboard pizza box and walk around the outside of the circle, behind the players’ backs while the
group chants:

Pizza delivery in the box,
Pizza delivery piping hot,
Pizza delivery ready or not.
Ding, dong, PIZZA DELIVERY!

On the last words, “Pizza Delivery,” the child drops the pizza box behind a players’ back and the game continues per the steps above.

Preschool children love the element of surprise that these games offer. Whose back is IT going to drop the basket or pizza box behind? They also love to play chase and the activity of running and increasing heart rates is very beneficial for physical health and development.

These activities are also great for teachers to use when children are in transition -- i.e., waiting for parent pick up or for their group’s turn at the art center in the classroom, etc. Remember young children do not need to engage in competitive games with definite winners and losers. Having fun and playing cooperatively is a great main objective!

Kids on Parade! Rhythm Stick Fun

Rhythm sticks or clave (klah-vey)—a Latin name for rhythm sticks—are indisputably one of the best first instruments for young children.

Rhythm sticks are members of the “percussion family” of instruments—which are musical instruments sounded by striking, shaking or scraping—and are tapped together to make a sound. Small percussion instruments are the most appropriate for children ages 2-7 and include the triangle, maracas, bells, tambourines, drums, cymbals and sand blocks.

Rhythm sticks are a natural extension of the sounds children make with their hands (clapping) and feet (stamping). Basic rhythmic concepts about beat, tempo and patterns are great for teaching to young children and can be experienced through a variety of fun activities, including playing rhythm sticks. When rhythm sticks are used in musical activities for young children, the process, rather than the product, is the important goal. Children thrive on the familiar; they enjoy the security of repetition and it’s an essential component for building basic skills and understanding.

It is important that rhythm sticks for the 2- and 3-year-olds be the appropriate size. Chunky Rhythm Sticks from Discount School Supply. are specifically made for little hands and fingers to easily grip and hold. This set includes 24 sticks or enough for 12 children with one for each hand.

Rhythm Stick Play: Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Playing and using rhythm sticks promotes and develops the following:

• Small motor development—using the small muscles of the hands and fingers
• Eye-hand coordination—eyes and hands working together smoothly
• Dexterity—skill and ease in using hands
• Eye tracking—eyes being able to follow an object as the object moves in space
• Directionality—the inner sense and knowledge of where things are in relation to the body
• Auditory discrimination—being able to hear and identify differences in sounds
• Listening skills—ability to follow verbal directions
• Coordination—parts of the body moving smoothly together
• Rhythm—aspects of music having to do with time; patterns of sound perceived in relationship to a recurring beat
• Beat—recurrent throb or pulse in music; important rhythmic skill to develop before the age of seven as the ability to keep a steady beat is linked to linguistic development
• Tempo—the speed of music
• Thinking processes—creative thinking and problem solving; develops memory (pattern and sequence)
• Crossing the midline—occurs when left or right arms or legs cross over the center of one’s body and promotes communication between the brain hemispheres

Rhythm Stick Play: Rules
It is helpful to establish rules that will make the playing experience a happy and enjoyable one for both adults and children. As the teacher or leader of the activity, do not pass out the rhythm sticks until you have made clear what your expectations are regarding use of the rhythm sticks. The teacher or leader should demonstrate the activity first. If a child does not use his or her sticks properly or safely, an appropriate consequence might be to take them away for a short period of time, allowing that child to observe and rejoin when he/she feels able to follow the rules.
The following are some suggested rules and ideas for classroom and home activities using rhythm sticks:
1. Children sit cross-legged in a scattered or circle formation, ensuring that each child has his or her own personal space.
2. An adult or class helper is the keeper of the bin of sticks and walks around the group to allow each child to pick two sticks.
3. Rhythm sticks are passed out and children lay them on the ground in front of them and put their hands in their lap.
4. Upon teacher or leader instructions, or when the music starts, children can pick up their sticks and follow your lead.
5. When the music stops or the teacher says “freeze” and all activity ceases. If children are sitting, the sticks go back on the ground and hands go in their laps.
6. For organized clean up, an adult or class helper brings the bin around and instructs the children to put the rhythm sticks in the bin.

Rhythm Stick Play: Activity Idea
Pass out the rhythm sticks—, have children practice following a leader as they keep time to the music. Ask the children to stand up and get ready to march (a precise type of walk, accompanied by lifted knees and swinging arms) in the rhythm stick band! The teacher or a child can be the leader of the parade who marches in front, setting the direction and pace of the parade. Select a musical selection with a short, regular beat for a melodic and rhythmic background to accompany the sticks.

Parachute Play!

Open it up, spread it out and the kids will come running! A parachute or play canopy is big, colorful and inviting. In preschool classes and teacher trainings, I’ve been sharing games and activities that promote gross motor skills, physical activity, lots of smiles and tons of fun. Here are some parachute activity ideas you may want to try with your own children or the children in your classroom:

Brave the Waves and Pop the Bubbles

While sitting down around the outside edge of the parachute, have children grasp the parachute and shake the parachute up and down. Select two or three children to crawl (on hands and knees) on top of the parachute and pop the “bubbles” that are created when everyone moves their hands up and down making “waves.”

Hi and Hello

While standing and holding the parachute, ask children to follow your directions with the correct movements: “Touch your toes, ready... lift!” Children lift the parachute up and over their heads. While the parachute is inflated encourage children to greet one another by waving with one hand while saying “Hi or Hello” as the parachute deflates. Repeat the activity, but this time wave with the other hand and to friends on another side of the parachute.

Mushroom

While standing and holding the parachute, ask children to “Touch your toes, ready... lift!” When the parachute has reached its apex, instruct children (while still holding parachute) to quickly walk toward the center of the inflated chute and look up at the mushroom cap above them. As the parachute deflates, direct children to walk backwards to their original positions while still holding onto the parachute.

Dome Camping Tent

While standing and holding the parachute, ask children to “Touch your toes, ready... lift!” Direct children to walk forward one step while pulling the parachute behind them and sitting down on the edge of the parachute. By sitting down inside the parachute they seal as much air as possible while creating a dome tent.

Popcorn

Children stand around the parachute, holding it with an overhand grip. Throw 6 -10 foam balls into the middle of the parachute. Tell the children that it is time to make popcorn. The balls are the kernels of popcorn, and if they shake the parachute hard enough, the corn will start to pop. Designate one child to be the “Popcorn Police” whose job it is to retrieve the kernels (balls) that have flown off the parachute and throw them back onto the parachute. Children keep popping the corn until they are “too pooped to pop.”

High-5 Exchange

Children stand around the parachute, holding it with an overhand grip. Ask two children across from each other to let go of the parachute. These two children will exchange places, walking beneath the inflated parachute, while the group lifts the parachute on the teachers' command. As they pass each other under the parachute, they can slap palms with a “High 5” as they go to their new place on the other side of the parachute. Continue playing until everyone has had a turn to exchange places.

Young children in your classroom or home love to repeat these activities. Remember that they learn best through repetition and experience--and so do you! The more and more you play with the parachute the more confident you will become in using this outstanding piece of equipment as part of your daily physical education or movement activities.

3, 2, 1... Blast Off to Space Academy!

I had the opportunity this week to see the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was the last night launch of the space shuttle program and the sight of it left me awestruck. It was powerful and inspiring!

I was watching the launch with my two young grandsons. They have always had an interest in the solar system and outer space as many young children do. We talked about the astronauts and the training they received in order to prepare themselves for the rigors of spaceflight.

We, as caregivers, parents and/or teachers of young children, can build on children’s interest by setting up Space Academy and providing physical challenges for our “young astronauts in training” to complete. Below are the course components of what the “astronauts” are to perform at each station. They are not only fun to do, but they also promote gross motor development, fine motor coordination, eye-hand coordination, eye-foot coordination, balance, spatial awareness, language development, creativity and imagination!

Blast Off: Designate a “launch pad” with a Hoop or Poly Spot Marker. The “astronaut” assumes a squatting position on the launch pad and begins the countdown chanting loudly and slowly, “10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0...BLAST OFF!” Children “blast off” (stand or jump) from squatting position, arms raised toward the sky.

Flying Saucer Throw: Hang a Hoop from a tree or a beam and instruct astronauts to throw a “flying saucer” (flying disc) through the hoop.

Orbiting Planets: Place 4-6 Cones two feet apart from each other. Children hold a Hoop around their waist and “orbit” (circle) around each cone as a planet would around the sun.

Asteroid Toss: Use Foam Balls or Sensory Balls and plastic Buckets. Astronauts toss the “asteroids” (balls) into the buckets to prevent them from hitting the earth!

Moon Walk: Set out Pods or Riverstones randomly but not too far apart. Astronauts step on each pod or stone as they walk on the moon’s uneven surface.

Ride a Moon Rover: Set out Roller Boards and Cones or Hop Around Steps. Astronauts sit on a “moon rover” (Roller Board) and travel around the Cones using their feet.

Return to Earth: Use a Joey Jump and Bean Bags. Astronauts place bean bag at end of “launch board” (Joey Jump). They step on the opposite end of the board to catapult the “retrorockets” (bean bags) and catch the rocket in their hands--ensuring a safe landing and the completion of another successful Space Shuttle mission.

Angels in the Snow

Growing up in the Midwest, snowy days provided us with winter fun and entertainment in the form of making “snow angels” or “snow fairies.”

A snow angel is created by lying down on your back in powdery snow and moving your outstretched arms on the snow, going from head to waist in a sweeping motion while also moving your legs apart as far as they will go and then bringing them back together.

Keep repeating these motions (it’s like doing jumping jacks while lying on your back) until a large enough indentation has been made. You’ll see the shape of an angel or fairy (a body with a skirt and wings) when you stand up. We would try to make several angels in the snow, always looking for the perfect angel (one without foot prints or handprints in the middle of it).

I didn’t grow up having Liquid Watercolor but wouldn’t it be fun to put some Liquid Watercolor™ into a spray bottle and spray the finished angels different colors to make them stand out?

Making snow angels can be great fun for the kids in your care. Mastery of angel-making in the snow is a fine example of building physical coordination (parts of the body moving smoothly together.)

The best news is that kids don’t have to live in snow country in order to make snow angels/fairies. These can be made on tall grass, in sand, and invisible ones can even be made on classroom or home carpets or on tumbling mat . Making snow angels can be a good cool-down activity to conduct after active play as it helps the heart and body to return to its normal resting state. To create a calm and relaxed mood, a teacher or caregiver can put a CD such as Putamayo “Dreamland” CD in the CD Player. As the soothing music plays, lead the children in the activity of angels in the snow.

For the developing young child, this activity may be harder to do than it looks.

Provide direction and guidance by following this procedure:
1.Child lies down on back.
2.Staying in contact with the surface of the floor, mat, snow, ground
or carpet, the child opens and closes legs. Arms are kept down to sides of body.
3.Child practices opening and closing legs, keeping legs in contact with floor.
4.Once a smooth, sustained legs-apart, legs-together movement is mastered, instruct the child to move arms away from sides of body to shoulder height and then return them to side of body, keeping arms in constant contact with floor.
5.Now instruct the child to open and close legs while moving arms.
6.Emphasize that the arms and legs stay in touch with the surface of the floor while there is movement.

Obstacle Courses = A"maze"ing Fun!

Versatile and inviting, an obstacle course can be great fun for young children, and a course is easy to set up inside or out. Weather permitting, consider setting up the course outside. Fresh air can help energize brains and bodies!

An obstacle course is an arrangement of physical challenges or tasks, using simple equipment, set in a line or route around an area. For young children, moving around, over, under and through an obstacle course promotes motor planning abilities, physical skills and movement concepts. Colored yarn, chalk, traffic signs or hand and feet prints can be used for the children to follow. Depending on the age of the children, start with 4 to 6 tasks or events that make a simple yet challenging course. Spread out the obstacle course as much as possible. Adapt, add and change the course to fit your location and abilities of the children.

Before children attempt any obstacle course, ask them to watch as you or a child demonstrate the “how-to’s” (verbally describe directions for each task). Next, line up everybody behind each other at the start of the course and tell them to follow the leader through the course while you describe the physical challenges they are attempting. Emphasize that the obstacle course is not a race and they should not speed through the activities. The teacher or adult leader should stress to the children to keep some space between them. If a “traffic jam” does occur, tell the children to please wait patiently while the person in front of them completes the challenge on the equipment before proceeding ahead.

Having a theme or focus for an obstacle course provides structured physical activity for children because it is purposeful play with a clear goal. An all-time favorite is the “The Super Daring Obstacle Course.” It’s adventurous because of the "maze" of obstacles and the “perilous dangers” the children are challenged to avoid by correctly maneuvering through the course. “Dangers” are pretend and explained with great fanfare, such as the “quicksand” area or the “bottomless swap.” The more creative and imaginative the adventure, the more the children will love it!

The Super Daring Obstacle Course:

1. Start--place a pole, rope or piece of clothesline between two cones to make a crossbar for jumping over. Place a hoop on the ground on the other side of the rope or crossbar for children to jump into. Children jump over the “flaming” rope/bar and land with two feet in the hoop.

2. Jumping Pattern--place 4 hoops in a hopscotch pattern. Children jump with two feet into the first large hoop; straddle jump (feet apart) into the medium hoops placed side by side; end with two feet together again in the last large hoop.

3. Bridge Walk--place a rope lengthwise on the ground or set up a balance beam. Children try to walk heel-toe from one end of the beam/rope to the other, balancing above the “bottomless swamp.”

4. Helpful Turtles--place 4 to 6 spot markers, Hop Around Steps or Balance Pods in a row 6- 12” from each other. Encourage children to step or leap from one spot marker (shells of turtles to help them avoid the “quicksand”) to the next as they travel on their adventure.

5. Tunnel of No Return--set up a cloth or nylon tunnel or use a large box. Children creep through quietly on hands and knees to avoid waking the “alligators.”

6. Perilous Path--set up 4 to 6 cones in a row about 2-4’ apart from each other to make a pathway. Children to travel in a zigzag pattern, snaking their way around and through without waking the “snakes.”

7. Stop--place a tumbling mat several feet away from the last cones of the Perilous Path. Children run to the mat and fall down on it or log roll to the end, survivors of The Super Daring Obstacle Course!

8. Direct children to the start of the course as you inevitably hear them ask, “Can we do it again? Can we do it again?”

As I once heard a child say, “The obstacle course is THE BEST thing I like at school!” It’s a wonderful thing for preschool teachers and early childhood caregivers to include as part of physical activity or movement programs.