Obstacle Course
An exciting way to introduce spatial and bodily awareness using a variety of resources.
You will need:
• A large open space, this can be indoors or outdoors
• Tunnel or cardboard box
• Blocks or crates to balance on
• Hoops, cones, balls and bean bags
Doing the activity:
Set up the open space with the equipment to encourage your little one to use different parts of their bodies as they move around the course.
Think about setting up obstacles that provide:
• Objects to move over or climb through and around e.g. tunnels, boxes, or stepping stones.
• Objects to balance or walk along e.g. a skipping rope on the floor.
• Objects to throw - this could be as simple as throwing a bean bag into a box.
Why not use a stop watch and time how long it takes your little one to complete the obstacle course and then take turns with family and friends to see who is the quickest.
How this supports knowledge and development:
Building an obstacle course is designed to improve gross motor skills and general coordination for children. Gross motor skills are those which require whole body movement and which involve the large muscles of the body to perform everyday functions, such as standing and walking, running and jumping, and sitting upright.
Children enjoy creative physical activities. With an obstacle course, their imagination can run wild when designing and choosing obstacles, as well as developing and extending their vocabulary using more complex words such as under, over, forwards and backwards.
TOP TIP - If you have a paved driveway or patio, why not use chalk to draw out an abstacle course if you dont have access to cones and bean bags. Let your imagination go wild!
