movement exploration with kids

Kindergarten Readiness – Time To Turkey Trot

Doing the Turkey Trot

The month of November has been busy with 5 senses, personal development, holiday crafts and art. It’s more than time for some physical development activity. Since we’ve been talking about bodies, what are some ways that bodies can move? Here’s a few to get us moving: walk, gallop, hop, skip, jump, crawl, roll, slide, saunter, jog, tiptoe, dance, shiver, shake, limp, march, hike, swim, fly, climb, and the one that kids seem to do all the time both inside and out, run.

Just doing a few of these will give lots of exercise, wear off some energy, and develop physical and kindergarten readiness skills. (If you are creative, you may be able to shuffle in a chore or two: Let’s shiver and shake while we pick up the toys. Can we saunter the trash out to the garage? Who’s first to parade with the vacuum? ) The turkey trot sure is better than the chicken dance, wouldn’t you agree? What other moving and shaking can you suggest?

Kindergarten Readiness – Moove #8

No, that’s not a typo. It’s a play with words, because this blog is about mooving. Kids love to explore movement and need to find out all the different ways that they can coordinate their bodies. How would a moose move? Put thumbs on each side of the head, spread the fingers to be antlers and lumber around. How about a giraffe? Stretch way way up. An elephant? A bear, snake, fish, dog, cat, chicken, etc.

A few chores can be piggy-backed onto the movement exploration. How would a chicken put away the clean laundry? What parts of the body would a horse use to carry the toys out of the family room and back into the toy box? Fishes can wash the dishes. This makes working seem more like playing. Does this work for you?