Suitable for:

  • 1 or more players
  • Outdoor or indoor area
  • Range of physical literacy: Multi-movement
  • Age appropriate: 3-7 years

Primary physical literacy skill: all types

Make it Happen

Try a quick fire instruction game where the children have to copy and react to what the leader says.

To ensure the children get a good amount of exercise, the parent/carer should lead to begin with.

3-5yrs

  • Call out a sequence of instructions in any suitable order that the children should respond to. Use different parts of the body and different types of exercise.

Some ideas: touch the ground, jump up, turn around, march on the spot, hop on one leg, crawl on hands and feet, balance on one leg with arms out wide, balance with arms reaching forwards, move arms out to the side like a windmill, run on the spot, run fast on the spot, stand still, jump forwards and back with feet together, curl into a ball, pretend to climb a ladder, twist hips like a hula hoop, put hands on shoulders/head/knees/toes, etc.    

3-7yrs

  • Play ‘Flippy says’. Call out a sequence of instructions in any suitable order that the children should respond to like the ‘Simon says’ game. I.e. if you say ‘Flippy says’ before a movement, then the children should perform the movement, if you don’t, then they should carry on with the movement before.

E.g. ‘Flippy says wave your arms in the air’ – they wave their arms in the air, then you just say ‘Stand on tiptoes’ – so they carry on waving their arms in the air.

 

5-7yrs

  • Call out a sequence of instructions in any suitable order but children have to perform an opposite movement (you can agree opposites in advance or they decide on an opposite movement as you call it).

E.g. You say ‘jump forwards’ so they have to jump backwards. Some ideas: Jump up/crouch down, run around fast/move in slow motion, raise left hand/raise right hand, kick heels up/raise knees up, bounce a ball on the ground/throw a ball in the air.

  • Ensure that the movement the children are performing is suitable for the space you have available.
  • Make sure that the movement sequence you choose allows children to exercise different parts of the body and allow for recovery time (e.g. if they have just been hopping then the next movement should give their knees and ankles time to recover).

We provide this list only as a guide of what parents/carers may wish to consider. Please also read our general guidelines on the Parents/Carers Information page.

Expand the headings below for suggestions to make more use of this activity and keep you and your children coming back for more

  • Pick themes for the actions. Some ideas: outer space, circus, knights and dragons, dancing.
  • Leaper’s theme: Flippy takes us to the pet shop and we copy the animals there. E.g. ‘Flippy says swim like a fish; Flippy says prowl like a cat; jump like a dog, Flippy says jump like a dog’.

Please also read our general guidelines on the Parents/Carers Information page.

  • Call out instructions fast or slow depending on whether they are at a level where you are trying to catch them out or whether you are helping them to keep up.
  • If a child gets the action wrong, then they can step to the side perform 3 star-jumps and then join back in.
  • Play ‘double Flippy says’ (need at least 4 people). Have two people as leaders calling out instructions at opposite ends of the activity area with children in front of each of them. If a child gets caught out then they need to run to the other end and follow the other leader. Every time they get a movement wrong they change ends.

Please also read our general guidelines on the Parents/Carers Information page.

  • Always make sure whatever equipment you are using is safe and appropriate for that use.
  • Is there anything around you that can be used as one of the movements? E.g. if in a play park then you could include a turn on one of the apparatus (slide, climbing frame, etc).

Please also read our general guidelines on the Parents/Carers Information page.

  • Ensure that each sequence has a range of movement types to exercise the whole body.
  • Include big movements such as lifting the legs as well as little movements such as wiggling the toes.
  • If you have a big area then instructions can involve moving around the area in different ways (skipping, rolling, galloping, etc) rather than all the exercise taking place ‘on the spot’.

Please also read our general guidelines on the Parents/Carers Information page.

Printable PDF download here

Use of the resources

This move to improve resource is provided as a guideline only for parents and carers who wish to supervise physical activities for their children. Users of this resource have a duty of care to ensure the safety of their participants. We do not endorse the use of any content in this resource that a user feels may present a risk to the safety or well being of the children in their care.