These dragon movement activities sort of take us full circle back to the beginning of the month when we started our dinovember dragon fun and learning. No warm-up needed but get dragon roars ready. Little Sister is using her dragon cape but dress-up isn’t needed either.
What shape is a moat? Well, no matter its shape, it encircles a castle. A hula hoop encircles the body so is it a kind of moat? In a space where the hula hoop won’t knock anything—or anyone—over, let your child try it out. Do you remember how to make a hula hoop go around and around?
The video above shows a little one having as much fun with the hula hoop flat and still on the floor as his sister had when she was spinning it. The video below explains the trick: hips do not move around in a circle; instead, they go back and forth. It helps to practice rocking the body to get the idea.
If the weather is cooperative, as in not too cold and wet, kids can take the hula hoop outside. Kids can simply explore all the ways they can move with a hula hoop. They can hold it out front like a steering wheel and run around the yard. With the hoop flat on the ground, they can jump in and out. If the hop isn’t too big, kids might try to jump right over it. Running around the hula hoop and getting dizzy is another movement activity. Dragons might want to roar at the same time.
Some of this can be done inside, like jumping in and out of the hoop. Dragons and dance both start with the letter d and the sound ‘duh’ so turn on some music for kids to dance. Dancing can be done inside the hula hoop moat or outside it. Especially if the weather means more time inside and less time outside, it’s important for kids to be able to move their bodies and wear off some exercise.
Mini-trampolines and rebounders are also round. They have a sort of moat or ring around the outside edge but the middle is great for movement fun. Jumping up is super exercise to strengthen the skeleton. Kids also like to jump off and on. Can you think of some other dragon movement activities?