Preschoolers have an abundance of energy, and gymnastics lessons can encourage and channel this enthusiasm through fun activities that support development of mental and physical discipline and control. Gymnastics activities help preschoolers develop strength, flexibility and skills of balance and coordination. Physical activities also support development of children's cognitive, language and socio-emotional learning.
Safety First
Children should wear appropriate clothing and remove any jewelry before the lesson. Children should learn correct use of equipment and the correct positioning of equipment is essential. It is also important to control noise levels because children may lose concentration if they are talking while performing the activities. David Gallahue, author of "Developmental Physical Education for All Children," recommends a "three cone strategy." Instructors display three cones at the start of the lesson, and if noise levels become too raised, they place one cone on the floor. If noise levels persist, a second cone is placed. If the third cone is placed, children must immediately stop their activities and wait for further instructions from their teacher.
Warm-Up Games
Warm-up activities help to prevent injury. Warm-ups increase the heart rate, raise the core body temperature slightly, and increase blood flow to the muscles while gently stretching muscles and tendons.
For a group warm-up activity, instructors space out the same number of carpet tiles as there are children. Children skip or run around all of the tiles while lively music is played. When the music stops, each child must jump onto a tile, and only one child is allowed on each tile. Children follow the teacher's instruction, such as "Stretch up high," or "Bend over and touch your toes," and then hold their position until the music starts again.
Ribbon Wands
A ribbon wand is a small hand-held stick that has a strand of brightly-colored ribbon attached to its end. Ribbon wand activities teach children a range of skills that include attentive listening, following instructions, rhythmic movement, spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination. Instructors can ensure that children have enough space for this activity by placing carpet tiles around the room so that each child stands on his own tile. Instructors demonstrate a range of movements by using the ribbon wands, and ask children to copy them. For example, children make ribbons ripple over the floor to resemble wiggly worms, or wave ribbons over their heads to resemble tree branches that sway in the breeze.
Obstacle Course
A simple obstacle course that includes apparatuses such as tunnels, benches and mats enables preschoolers to develop spatial awareness and skills such as crawling, balancing, tumbling and jumping. An instructor can introduce the course layout to the children by asking them to walk around the equipment without touching anything until the instructor says a special word like "Freeze!" Children stand still and then touch the nearest piece of equipment with their hand. The instructor explains how to use each piece of equipment and reinforces his explanation by asking a child who is touching a piece of equipment to demonstrate its use. Once children are spatially aware and familiar with rules for using the equipment, the obstacle course can begin.
References
- Gym.net: Some of the Benefits of Gymnastics; Michael A. Taylor; July 2003
- "Developmental Physical Education for All Children"; David L. Gallahue et al.; 2007
- PE Central: Preschool PE Lesson Ideas; Steve Sanders; October 2004
- University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development: Rhythmic Activities: Manipulating Ribbon Sticks
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