Jump over the Rolling Log

Fishing with Running

Stop Disc Cones from Falling Down a Post

The Safe House

The Cone Tree

Hide Your Hat

Poisonous Mushroom Hunt

Easy Drink Coaster Spin

Soccer Twin Relay

Hoop Dance

The Streets of Mumbai with Turning

Challenge 1: Stop Disc Cones from Falling down a Post

1. Put one disc cone upside down through a pole and hold it at the top of the poles.
2. One child each stands on the opposite side of these poles, ready with their arms behind their backs.
3. The coach randomly drops the disc cones at different intervals and children try to catch them before they drop on the floor.

Tips

1. You can use ropes and attach them somewhere above your head to try the same challenge if you don’t have posts available.
2. Make sure that the posts are solid or watch out for posts tipping over when kids try to grab them.
3. The longer the posts, the better; the more time you can give your students to catch the disc cones.
4. Keep kids waiting for a little while before you drop the disc cones which adds to the excitement and is great to improve focus.

Goals

Main focus: Reaction
In addition: Orientation is needed to accurately track the disc cone

Progressions

1. The lower you let the disc cones fall from, the more yo...

Challenge 1: Poisonous Mushroom Hunt

1. Each child gets a small bucket to collect mushrooms.
2. Before getting started, have children spread out single pieces of toilet papers all over the gym, which are the poisonous white mushrooms.
3. Because the mushrooms are so poisonous, children can only pick them up with their feet to keep them far away from their faces.
4. They are then however allowed to use the help of their hands to put them into the bucket.
5. Do one round picking up the mushrooms with your left feet only, then one round with your right foot only.

Tips

1. You can try the same challenge with a variety of different items, like bottle lids, cloth pegs, little stones, buttons.
2. Ideally, have children pick up an equal amount with both left and right leg, even though this is hard to monitor.
    

Goals

Main focus: Balance
In addition: Physicality, strength in particular as children will spend a lot of time on one leg.

Story

1. These mushrooms are very poisonous and children need to b...

Challenge 1: Hoop dance

1. Put up a rectangle made up of hoops on the floor.
2. The coach gives the rhythm, you can just keep counting to two or use some sound or music to give the rhythm.
3. Children jump from hoop to hoop from right to left and then to the next row ahead until the end of the rectangle, then get back in line.
4. the next child in line starts as the child ahead of him/her jumps to the next row.

To make it easier or to increase the challenge

1. The faster the rhythm the more you increase the challenge and vice versa to make it easier.

Game 1:  Catch spinning drink coasters

1. Flip the drink coasters (or use pieces of card box) backward to make them fly slower and let them fall down from a balcony or elevated area for children to catch with a small bucket.

Game 2: Catch with running

1. Have children start from further away, ideally behind a line so that they have to run as soon as the drink coaster has been tossed and catch it on the fly.

Game 3: Catching drink coasters facing away

1. Children face away from the person tossing the drink coasters and on command calling a number or their name, they have to turn around and try to catch the falling drink coaster.

Game 4: How far away can you go?

1. After each time you catch the drink coaster, line up a step further back for the next drink coaster to catch and see how far you can distance yourself from the thrower and still catch the drink coaster.

Tips

1. The higher up you are, the further away from children should start running.
2. The key when tossing is to m...

Game 1: The safe house

1. You need some play huts as shown.
2. Children line up on one end of the gym and the play huts, the safe houses, on the opposite end.
3. The noodle monster tries to tag children who try to get into the safe house without getting tagged.
4. Obviously, you want to give children some openings to be able to run to the safe house without getting tagged too often.
5. Keep in mind that only about max 3 children fit into one hut.
6. Alternate groups if you have many children in your class.

Tips

1. We use pop-up soccer goals as extra huts for more children or have children run into different rooms if available.
2. Quickly switch to each child being the noodle monster for more fun.
   

Goals

Main focus: A great game to get children physically very active.
In addition: Orientation is greatly improved and very complex for young children, they have to keep track of a free target hut to run into, and avoid the monster and other children as well to not collide.

Story

1. Run back insid...

Game 1: Cone Tree

1. Put up a ladder, the Christmas tree, at a wall to keep it from falling down if it is light or use chairs, tables, or boxes instead and stack them up to be able to place cones, the Christmas presents, on each level. 
2. Stairs work really well too.
3. Children now try to shoot all the cones off the ladder from behind a predefined shooting line
4. Lay out some hoops to shoot from.
5. Each cone represents one Christmas present, let's see who gets the most presents?

Tips

1. Use small boxes instead of cones that resemble presents more closely.
2. If you don’t have a ladder handy, put up the cones on stairs, one cone per step.
   
3. The key is to use small enough cones or have the shooting line far enough away to force a full throwing motion and challenge children for quite a while to get all cones down.
4. It tends to be very motivating for children to shoot all the cones down so it should not be too easy.
5. Try at least 1 round with your non-preferred hand as well.

Goals

Main foc...

Game 1: Hide your Hat

1. Each child holds a disc cone of a different color and tries to hide it behind his or her back.
2. The coach and later one of the children call out a color he wants and try to peek behind the children's backs to see who has that color.
3. All remaining children constantly move and try to hide their disc cones behind their backs to keep the coach from seeing their color.

Tips

1. A smaller playing field is preferred for this game as children will have to pivot and change directions more frequently to hide their hats, compared to a larger field where they can just move away from the coach.
2. And of course, you can also substitute the disc cones with any other colored items, or sheets of paper work just as well.
    
3. Add a second person to look for the hats to add an even greater tactical challenge for children to be able to hide the hat, having to find the most favorable path to move and be able to hide the hat.
    

Goals

Main focus: Reaction, to quickly change directi...

Game 1: Fishing Net with Running

1. Children are all fish, swimming in a defined playing field they can't step out of.
2. The coach or one of the children is the fisherman and tries to throw the net over one of the children to catch a fish.
3. You can play this with lives for each child or just for fun.

Tips

1. An ideal size is about 1,5 meters to be able to throw the net well,
2. start walking, and throw the net for children to get used to avoiding bumping into other children.

Goals

Main focus: Reaction, orientation, and physicality, speed, and endurance, in particular, are improved.

Story

1. The fisherman is out catching as many fish (children) as possible.
2. Have children choose what kind of fish they want to be.

Progressions

1. Have 2 fishermen,
2. walk faster or
3. adjust the heigh you throw the net, if you throw the net high enough, all children can usually flee.

Game 1: Soccer Twin Relay

1. Each child has 2 balls each, the soccer twins, and on command has to kick them toward the end target which should be fairly narrow.
2. The end target can be a pop-up soccer goal or just 2 cones.
3. The end target should be away far enough, that children need to guide the ball for a while before they can kick it through the end target.

Tips

1. The greater the distance to the end target, the better, the more activity, and the more correction is needed to keep the balls on track.
2. Try it with a variety of different balls, initially 2 of the same kind and ultimately 2 different ones like a small and large ball or a light and heavy ball to force children to adapt.
    

Goals

Main focus: Foot-eye coordination
In addition: Rhythm, moving and kicking slow enough to be able to control the balls. Differentiation when using different balls.
Physicality, endurance in particular, and rhythm are important to be able to control the balls.

Story

1. A couple of twins always w...