Gymnastics should be an important part of everyday life in kindergarten and at home. Playful exercises are particularly suitable to make it pleasant for all children, including those who are a bit lazy. The children enjoy this and participate enthusiastically.
What you need:
- balls
- balloons
- Cloth balls (make your own if necessary)
- tires
- Sail
- Mats
- chalk
- Music
- empty yoghurt cups
- small awards
Gymnastics – meaning of gymnastics with smaller children
- The purpose of gymnastics with small children is to train the various forms of movement and movement possibilities and thereby to develop skills. In child-friendly exercises, children should be able to throw, catch, climb, jump, run fast, move in rhythm, do exercises in pairs, use simple sports equipment such as balls, clubs, mats, ropes, tires, etc. to use.
- Gymnastics in kindergarten also influences the child’s social behavior. Children need to learn to make an effort and realize that not all effort leads to victory.
- Gymnastics in kindergarten always promotes the ability to concentrate (children have to memorize certain sequences) and the joy of movement.
Movement in kindergarten – some exercises
- Blow up balloons. The children should repeatedly push them into the air during gymnastics in kindergarten without them falling to the ground. They should express different moods through different movements (hopping, walking, etc.): happy, tired, etc. (dexterity exercise)
- Lay out a not too wide aisle from 2 ropes. The children must pass through without stepping over the edge. (Balance) You can complicate the exercise for kindergarten gymnastics by having the children hold a plastic egg on a spoon or balancing a soft object (eg a small pillow) on their heads.
- Place colored hoops on the ground at intervals or draw larger circles with colored chalk. Play or sing children’s songs on the accordion or another instrument. As long as you sing, the children run around the hoops, when you stop they have to jump into a hoop quickly. Make the gymnastics exercise more difficult by specifying the color of the hoop to hop into.
- Place various light objects on the floor: towels, pencils, socks, stones that are not too heavy, pieces of Styrofoam, small stuffed animals, crumpled paper, etc. The children slide barefoot on their buttocks (hands on their backs, legs bent) and try to use these objects grab with your toes. The winner is whoever has collected the most.
- Spread out two mats in the nursery classroom and have the children practice rolling forward and sideways during gymnastics. You must be careful not to get in each other’s way.
Gymnastics in kindergarten – outdoor exercises
- Build a tower of larger yoghurt or quark cups (empty) on a table at each end: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. For gymnastics in kindergarten, divide the children into 2 groups and have them throw fabric balls at them . Objective: Which group was the first to throw all the cups in the tower off the table?
- Follow tracks: Step tracks in the snow at child-friendly intervals or draw them on the ground. The children should follow them without stepping next to them. (balance exercise)
- The children walk in a circle. An adult sings a well-known children’s song from kindergarten. When a word is set, the children have to squat down briefly for gymnastics in the kindergarten and then continue running again. If you fall over while crouching, you are eliminated. The winner gets a small prize.
- In a meadow, stick stakes (hardware store) into the ground at intervals. The children have to go through them in a snake run. The exercise can be made more difficult by having the children walk in a spider aisle, trying to do it backwards, doing it in pairs (holding hands), slowly moving a ball through the course with their feet, etc.
