Children jump/run/hop/leap from hoop to hoop trying to cross the river without the crocodile getting them!
Set up
Scatter hoops around a 10m x 10m area. Build the story - "The hoops are your lilypads, and you are the frogs! You need to cross the river by jumping on the lilypads and avoiding the crocodiles!"
Tip: You can use markers or chalk instead of hoops
How to play
Step 1:
- When the educator says "Go!", one at a time, children begin jumping from hoop to hoop, lilypad to lilypad - crossing the river
Step 2:
- When all the children have crossed, repeat! Try changing the locomotor skill, such as leaping, hopping, or even jumping backward
Step 3:
- Introduce new challenges with each round, e.g., only jump in blue hoops or only jump in a hoop with a flat marker in it. Try adding in a crocodile that children need to avoid
Variations
Make it easier
- Change the type of locomotion to cross the river - walk, run, jump, leap, hop
- Place hoops closer together and over a smaller distance
Make it harder
- Add some additional challenges: you can only jump in blue and red hoops (or yellow or green)
- Try and jump to the other side of the river in five jumps
- You can't jump in hoops with beanbags in them (they are the crocodiles!)
- Move hoops further apart
Activity information
Age: Kindergarten / Pre-school, Foundation, Year 1, Year 2
Participants: 1
+
Equipment: Hoops, Flat markers (optional), Cones
Duration: 10 minutes
Skill focus
Explore these skills for teaching tips
Activity summary
Physical literacy tips
- Let multiple children jump at once to minimise waiting time
- Make a story - we're going on a picnic! Children cross the river to have their picnic on the riverbank, but uh oh, someone keeps forgetting the sandwiches, or the drinks! You've gotta turn back!
- Have lots of different pathways available, with some harder options to allow children to challenge themselves