Easy Kids Indoor Obstacle Course

Haven't done one of these in a while so when we have had a few yucky weather days Dimples has been getting a little bored of his usual play so I set this Easy Obstacle Course up inside for him.
In the past his favourite obstacle course would have been our Outdoor Obstacle course seen here. Being the one and only contender he was trying to outdo his personal best time.

 He started with some lounge cushions, I drew up instructions along the path. First he had to jump 6 times, then he had to hop over the lizard, then there was another cushion and this time he had to shake his entire body to the count of 6.
As he jumped off there was a balloon that he had to shot & score in a bucket before sliding and "slithering" under a tunnel- Tunnels are easy and the best part of an obstacle course, use chairs and a bed sheet or a small table.

 On the other side there were some spiders & snakes sitting waiting by the balloon so he had to watch out for them and grab another balloon, first he had to put the balloon between his knees and waddle like a penguin to the shooting line, then he had to shot another goal with his balloon.
Next he had to get onto his sit and spin and spin around 7 times.
This was great for his counting practise as he had to count without thought while he was distracted doing many other things.  After he had spun around 7 times and was a little dizzy he had to walk the tightrope ( a Zig zagged line of masking tape).

Then after that he had to jump on the spot and " tiptoe" over some cup coasters. Then he was on the home stretch the last part of the obstacle course was to grab his teddy and commando crawl down low to the finish line. Once he made it to the finish line, where miss Cherub was watching he had to put on a party hat and ring the bell.

Learning Objectives:

• Gross Motor Skills
• Locomotor skills
• Bilateral coordination
• Ball Skills
• Sequencing & Memorising the steps
• Hand eye coordination
• Balance
• Counting practice
• Imagination (e.g. avoid the lizard, tip toe over the Lilly pads, save the teddy bear)
• Strength & Agility
• Doing your Best - Striving to beat personal Best

Extend with these Play Ideas:
OutDoor Obstacle Course
Spider Maze
Easy Gross Motor Obstacle Course


Happy Adventures  :)

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Play-doh Printing, a Matter of Texture

 

Play-dough Printing : A Matter of Texture

Exploring surfaces and texture through imprinting in Play dough

Dimples enjoyed our Outdoor Surface Rubbings  so much that we have done it several times since. When he asked to do it inside I was a bit hesitant, I could see him accidently coloring in the walls and floors and so on in the house trying to get to different surfaces, so instead we explored different textures on a play dough surface.

Dimples went on a hunt for household objects, toys and things that had different or unusual textures, prints and surfaces.  He gathered a bumpy ball, some shells, net, a coin, a bathroom mat, a sponge, some Simpson figurines, some cocktail stirrers, lego. cars, craft nic-nacks, a button, a fork, some different textures toys and so forth looking for things that felt different and would print in the play dough.

After he explored different textures he turned his play dough surface over and rolled it out smooth and flat to try some more. The sea shells worked well, as did the bumpy ball and some of Miss Cherubs baby toys. Of course Lego and car tires work well with strong prints.

The options are endless, there are so many textures to explore and different shaped objects to compare. Dimples enjoyed the activity and went through everything we had collected a few times. In the end it was the cars and the Simpson figurines that were the favorites.

Learning Objectives:

• fine motor strengths & skills
• increased vocabulary of describing objects shapes, sizes, textures and feeling.
• Objectively collecting textures
• Observation
• Exploration
• Opportunities to experiment with their sense by touching, feeling, smelling, manipulating & seeing different results.

Extend with these Play ideas:

Fossil Prints
Sensory Cinnamon Playdough
making tracks in playdough


Happy Adventures