As all parents and caregiver know, kids like to move and be active. Especially after watching hockey, it’s exciting to pretend to play hockey. Unfortunately, I discovered that kids using soft pool noodles to hit a paper bag stuffed with newspaper can still be a bit dangerous. Not because getting hit with the bag hurt. It was the contact with each other. (Very much like real hockey.) Another disadvantage was that a pool noodle has a long reach and requires a big space. I needed a variation but with a hockey theme. This was a fairly successful idea–the people became the puck and a room the ice.
I started the game by being the voice of the puck. Crawling around I added the commentary: I am a puck. Here I go beside the coffee table, now I’m going behind the sofa. And the puck is sliding under the table. Now, the puck is going over to the goal and it’s in. (The goal was the space under a kitchen chair.) Then, I asked a little one, “Are you a puck, too?” The answer, fortunately, was a yes. So now, there were 2 pucks crawling around. It was quite a bit of exercise! No equipment was needed and no furniture had to be moved. Here’s a picture of one because the other (me) was too slow.
Kindergarten readiness does check children’s physical development but this is more to indicate if there is a concern. As kids grow they need lots of active time to develop their muscle control and coordination. Being a hockey puck on the floor is fun, besides being a whole body physical activity. The only injury in this case was to the adult’s knees. But it was all in a good cause. Go, hockey, go. And watch out for those pucks!