Suitable for:
- 1 or more players
- Outdoor area or indoor area of a few metres
- Range of physical literacy: all types
- Age appropriate: 3-7 years
Primary physical literacy skills: all types, creative movement
Make it happen
Each child makes up a movement (or performs a movement suggested by another) e.g. marching on the spot 8 times. If playing in pairs/group then everyone performs the movement together.- A second movement is then suggested e.g. crouching down and then jumping into the air.
- Everyone performs the first movement followed by the second movement. Keep adding new movements but always perform the sequence from the beginning (like the ‘I went shopping’ memory word game).
- See how many movements can be added before the children start forgetting some; or perform a sequence of 10 moves and then create new ones.
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.
- Each person needs enough space to be safely active on-the-spot and whilst moving around the area.
- Make sure the area is clear of obstructions in all directions (suggest other children are at least two arm’s lengths away). If there is limited space then players can take turns.
Please click on our headings below to help you make more of this activity and keep your children coming back to it over time
- Make up movements to fit an imaginary theme or story e.g. getting ready for school, the Olympics, space adventure, mystery adventure.
- Describe the storyline/theme as the movements are performed e.g. I cycle my bike, I swim the lake, etc. The children often have the best ideas, it’s the parent/carers job to help ensure the moves are energetic.
To give you some ideas, here’s an example of an imaginary theme:
Leapers theme – Bumpy the elephant’s jungle trek:
- Follow Bumpy through the jungle
- Climb a tree to gather fruit
- Swing to another tree on a vine
- Jump down to the ground
- Lift up a boulder to see underneath
- Jump about brushing off biting ants
- Dive in the river for a swim
- You spot crocodiles – Freeze!
- Climb up a vine to get out of the water
- Dry yourself off head to toe with a towel
Please also read our general guidelines on the Parents/Carers Information page.
- Each person makes up 2 or 3 movements per turn instead of 1.
- Play in silence.
- Perform an agreed exercise in between each move e.g. 3x star jumps. This will provide more exercise and make it harder to remember the next move.
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.
- Include any equipment you have available safely into the movement sequence.
- Some ideas: bounce a ball on the spot, hold a clean hankie in your hand and trail it through the air in big arcing shapes, 5-7 year olds could lift a small plastic bottle of water into the air with alternate arms like a dumbbell.
- Use equipment as props to fit a chosen theme.
- Some ideas: Bumpy’s jungle trek – pretend a ball is a boulder, pretend a rug is a river to dive into; Mystery adventure – an empty kitchen roll tube as a torch, step through a hoop as the entrance to a cave.
Please also read our general guidelines on the Parents/Carers Information page.
- Make sure there is a combination of more active and less active movements.
- Try and think of different types of movements that exercise the whole body and the same parts of the body in a different way
- For example the following movements all exercise the joints and muscles in the legs in different ways:
- knee lifts, squatting, kicking, touching toes, running on the spot, walking on tip toes, lying on back, kicking legs in the air.
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.
