Frogs to Cheetahs

Age
2-5 years
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Child Development
Well-being and belonging (physical activity); Language & literacy (vocabulary development)
Equipment
None
Physical Activity

This activity aims to build the fundamental movement skills of locomotion and coordination (running, jumping, wheeling).

Where this can be played
Indoors or outdoors
How to Play
  1. The leader acts as a “magician”, and the children start as “jumping frogs.”
  2. When the leader says, “Abracadabra!”, the children turn into “cheetahs” and run fast until the leader says “Abracadabra” once again and turns them back into frogs. Repeat!
Change it up / Alternatives / Additional Options
  • Draw a circle ‘pond’ out of chalk that the frogs can jump towards, and the ‘desert’ on the outside of the pond where children run as cheetahs.
  • Change the animals after a few times around:
    • Horses (gallop) and flamingoes (balance on one leg)
    • Penguins (shuffle) and elephants (big, stomping steps)
    • Crabs (side shuffle) and bears (crawl)

Adaptations

  • For children who are deaf or hard of hearing, act out the actions with the child or provide pictures of the animals and ask the child how they think this animal moves.
  • For children with impairments in flexibility or gross motor skills, encourage them to perform the movements as much as they can, with the understanding that it may look different than others.
  • If you have a participant who uses a wheelchair, think of ways that the child can perform similar actions (depending on function), such as
    • Pushing up so their bum comes off seat
    • Backwards wheeling
    • Wheeling with alternating arms (one arm at a time)
    • Pivot by pushing forward with one hand and pulling back with the other to stay in one spot.
    • Driving forward and stopping on command
    • Wheeling forward and pulling back to stop
  • For a child with a visual impairment, provide a tactile boundary so they know where they should be jumping to.
  • If you have a child with another type of disability not mentioned above, they may be able to participate in this activity without adaptations or modifications

Source - MEGA