So we just finished our first Motor Smart Kids group ‘Music and Movement’ and were able to get creative with some of the games we played so I thought I would pass them along.
Ten Little Monkeys
For this song we had the kids jumping on a trampoline with a crash pad located in the middle. You can also have them jump on the ground too. We took turns for each verse jumping on two feet, left foot and right foot. The best part was the crashing into the crash pad when the monkeys fell off the bed! In order to get more interaction between the kids they took turns jumping and then letting the next person know when they had crawled off the crash pad. You can also use pillows or couch cushions for this if you don’t have a crash pad.
Red Rover
We took turns having each kid be the person talking. They would say ‘Red Rover Red Rover have (kids name) (run, skip, hop, forward roll, gallop, jump, walk backwards, cross the balance beam, etc) over”. Afterwards they would go back to the end of the line and the child who just came over would call out the next kid. We of course had our crash pit at the end so they all got to crash once they made it over but again, its not necessary! In the beginning there was lots of prompting for what activity they could do but the kids got creative as we went and got really good at using their ‘loud voices’.
Simon Says
This one is really simple, we just took turns being the leader and gave the kids a chance to pick what was happening next. Sometimes we changed the name to ‘(kids name) says’ but we always gave them the vote if it was regular simon says or a different version. Depending on how old the kids are you can play that they have to do it only when simon says but for us we just wanted the kids to practice the skills.
Turkey Dance
We adapted the chicken dance to be the turkey dance for Thanksgiving and we gave the kids cues of ‘beaks’, ‘wings’, ‘tail feathers’ and clap clap clap. Then for the part where they dance around we had them squat down and walk like turkeys (or ducks).
All in all the kids had a great time, got a work out and really worked on their gross motor skills and social interactions!
What are some of the ideas you have when adapting kids games?
Starfish Therapies 
[…] bed and when mom calls the doctor the doctor says ‘put those monkeys back in bed’! (see Kids Games – New Twists on Old Favorites for a gross motor idea for this […]
Pingback by Great Songs for Therapy « Starfish Therapies — January 16, 2012 @ 4:10 pm |
[…] the completion of our first group class I shared some of our ideas in ‘Kids Games: New Twists on Old Favorites‘. Well, we’ve now started another group class with a focus on sports, ball play, […]
Pingback by Kids Games: More New Twists on Old Favorites « Starfish Therapies — January 25, 2012 @ 7:47 pm |
[…] some routines consistent. I have talked about some of the games we play in the groups in my first and second post on New Twists on Old Favorites. Because of the varied skill level or the things […]
Pingback by What I Love About Our Movement Group! « Starfish Therapies — March 29, 2012 @ 12:00 pm |
[…] some routines consistent. I have talked about some of the games we play in the groups in my first and second post on New Twists on Old Favorites. Because of the varied skill level or the things […]
Pingback by What I Love About Our Movement Group! — March 30, 2012 @ 8:42 am |