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Physical

Materials:

Purple flower

Rope or tape. For Pillowcase Race: a pillowcase for each racer. For Three-Legged Race: string, tights, or exercise bands. For Spoon Balance Race: spoons and small balls

Your Child Will Learn

Greater coordination and balance during challenging gross motor movements.

family-challenge-races

Family Challenge Races

Learning for the Whole Family

No Mess

20m

Here's What To Do

1

Choose which races you want to try. Gather your supplies. Find a long space to be your race course, and mark the start and finish lines with rope or tape.

2

Challenge Ideas:

  • Pillowcase Race: Step inside of a pillowcase, and hold the sides with your hands. Hop your way from the start to the finish.
  • Three-Legged-Race: Find a partner. Stand next to each other, and tie your inside legs together (one partner's left leg tied to one partner's right leg) using string, a pair of tights, or an exercise band. Work together to get to the finish line. (easier version: each person holds one end of a water bottle with their hand)
  • Wheelbarrow Race: Find a partner. One person gets into plank/pushup position, and the other person grabs their feet. The front person has to race using only their hands, and the other person holds their feet.
3

Spoon Balance Race: Each person needs a spoon and a small ball. Balance the ball on the spoon and start the race! If you drop the ball, pick it up and keep going.

4

Any other ideas your family comes up with!

5

Run your races!

  • If playing with several people, whoever crosses the finish line first, wins.
  • If playing with only yourself and one child, you can go one at a time and time yourselves to see who has the best time. Or, you can do each race a few times and see if you can beat your best time.
children racing in nap sacks

Put PEER Into Action

P

Pause:

  • Stretch your legs before you begin. Touch your toes and stretch any other leg muscles you'd like (calf, quadricep, hip flexor, etc.)
E

Engage:

  • "How fast can we get from the start to the finish with our legs tied together?"
  • "Can you walk only on your hands? I'll hold your legs, let's see if we can do it!"
E

Encourage:

  • "Wow, it is super tricky to race this way. We're trying our best and having fun and that's all that matters!"
  • "Whoa- you kept trying even though it was so hard for you. You should be proud of yourself!"
R

Reflect:

  • Which race was the hardest? Easiest? Most fun?

Not quite ready?

Try simpler movements to get from place to place, like hopping on one foot or crawling like a baby.

Ready for more?

Try races that require more coordination- like dribbling a soccer ball or basketball while running.

Variable color muffin tins (animated)

As your child masters this skill...

They will be able to do complex movements with greater balance and coordination.

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