Tips for toddler and preschool gymnastics at home with small equipment!

We are back home and it looks like it will be a while yet. Most of the toddler and pre-school lessons will unfortunately not take place. It is also a difficult age to give lessons via the screen. Fortunately, there is a lot that can be done at home with existing materials. So in this blog, we will be giving you some ideas of what you can do about toddler gymnastics at home with "small" materials from your own environment!

Noodle

I think everyone knows them, those elongated foam snakes you often see in the swimming pool. If you search the internet, you will find them under the name Pool Noodle. Super fun to play with in the pool of course, but did you know you can also use them outside the pool? For example, fun games and activities with your toddler.

Balk

If you lay this Pool Noodle on the ground, you have a very cool beam! Can your toddler walk across it all by himself? They do wobble, so keep your balance! Can you do more tricks on them?

Horse riding

Did you know that the Pool Noodle can also look like a horse? You can use them as long as they are, but if you bend one end and tie it with a string, you get a real horse! So you can gallop all over the room! Can you also do other tricks with your horse, such as turning around?

Another way to ride a horse? Bend the Noodle around your belly and let someone else hold the reins while you ride!

Game of high/low

The Noodle can also be used to play a game. Take the Noodle in your hand and let your toddler stand next to you. Now hold the Noodle high and let your toddler walk underneath it. Then hold it low and let your toddler step or jump over it. Repeat with different heights and a bit faster each time!

Response

Another fun game you can do when you have a few more. Stand next to each other or with enough people in a circle. Hold up a Noodle that is standing upright. Count down and then quickly release your Noodle and quickly take the Noodle next to you. Can you do that without them falling? It might be easier to let go of the Noodle for, say, two seconds and then see if you can catch it again!

Helicopter

Can you also rotate the Noodle above your head as if you were a helicopter? That is cool! Maybe you can be other vehicles like a car or a plane? And then run, of course! Forward, but can you also go backwards?

Air bed for kindergarten at home

Now that we can't go on holiday, we can also use the airbed for something else. Here are some ideas of what you can do on your airbed.

Bumpy track

Inflate the airbed halfway. If you have several airbeds, you can lay several in a row. Let your toddler walk on it! It will be a bit of a wobble. Will they manage? They can also crawl or, if it's too easy, walk backwards.

Rolls

If you inflate the airbed a little harder, you can of course also roll around on it. Perhaps you can also tilt the airbed a little by putting some cushions under it. Rolling over can be done in different ways. Your toddler can do it like a log, but also with a somersault, for example. If you are a bit strong, you can also fold the air bed while your child is inside. Then just rock it back and forth.

Jumping

And of course you can jump on an air mattress. All these ideas can of course be done on or with a mattress.

Kindergarten home gym with balloons

We often all have a balloon. You can have fun playing games with them and use them to recreate a challenging lesson in nursery school at home!

Hold up

You can of course try to hold up the balloon. Your toddler or preschooler can do this alone, but also together with you. Another fun variation is holding up the balloon with a flyswatter.

Umbrella

Maybe you have an umbrella nearby that you can hang up somewhere? Then you can try to hit the balloon in it. Is that too difficult? Then put the umbrella on the ground or get a container to put the balloon in.

Tea towel

Another fun game with the balloon is to hold the balloon up with a tea towel (or other larger cloth). Hold the tea towel with your child and throw the balloon up in the air again and again. How many times can you do this?

 Chair

We certainly have a chair too, maybe more than one. You can do quite a lot with a chair!

Assignments

You can teach them what is above and what is below by giving them a task: for example, sit under the chair as quickly as possible and then perhaps stand on the chair on one leg as quickly as possible.

Climbing, crawling and jumping

You can also crawl under most dining room chairs. Put a few in a row and make a tunnel. You can also make a second tunnel by putting blankets over the back of the chair and on something else. Of course, you can also climb on the chair and jump off again!

Blankets

Also blankets are great to do some assignments with!

Sledding

Have your child sit on the blanket and hold on tightly. Now pull him/her across the room. Quietly, quickly, with turns, can they stay put?

Crawling

Blankets can also be used to make lovely tunnels that are good for crawling development.

Cuddles

You can also do lots of fun things with cuddly toys, which often come back in the kindergarten gym class.

Save the cuddly toy

Make a lane where cuddly toys are in distress. Let your toddler or preschooler rescue the cuddly toys. They have to crawl and jump, for example.

Throwing

The cuddly toys are also great for throwing. Throw them at each other or try to throw them into a goal. Do you have some plastic cups? Make a nice tower of them and try to throw or "roll" them over.

Wool

Wool or rope can also be used for fun home gymnastics! You can make a spider web where your child has to go under the ropes or over them! You can make it even more difficult by giving them a task such as bring your cuddly toy safely through the web or by placing various obstacles on the floor such as cushions that they also have to take into account.

Spoon

Kindergarten gymnastics at home by doing tasks with a spoon, it is possible! Can you, for example, hold a small ball on the spoon while doing all sorts of tricks? Like walking forwards and backwards, standing on one leg and turning around. Maybe you have some fun ideas of your own that you can try!

Moving learning with reaction lights

You may have heard of them: reaction lights. These lights have special motion sensors. And they are suitable for all kinds of fun games.   Besides being used in all kinds of sports, you also see them more and more in the living room.

During gym class, many pupils are also very enthusiastic about reaction lights. Think of tag games, relays and reaction speed tests. It gives a gym class a great boost.

Young children love to play games with these lamps in the living room. An additional advantage: the games are very educational. The children train their reaction speed, coordination, strength, balance and so on.

Read more about these lamps in this blog!

Finally

Perhaps you have more suggestions for kindergarten at home and we would love to hear them. Let us know in the comments or on the Members Platform.