Preschool Fitness Games

Fitness games or organized movement is an important component of a preschooler's education. During this time of swift development, young children learn new motor skills. They form habits regarding an active lifestyle that may endure for a lifetime. Fitness games can also introduce preschoolers to either functional or expressive movement. Functional movement has a use or purpose, such as throwing a baseball or running a race. Expressive movement allows children to explore feelings, such as a happy dance.

Movement

• The four concepts that underlie all movement are body, space, effort and relationship, according to the Iowa State University Extension. A person can move by discontinuous motion, continual motion or using an object. How that person moves through space is revealed by direction, such as backward or forward, and level, such as low or high. How much effort the movement requires is contingent on speed, power and flow. Movement is also defined by the relationship between the individual and an object, such as a child jumping rope. Each time you change one of these concepts in a fitness game, you pose a new challenge to a child. The structure of the game, Follow the Leader, is repetitive; however, children don't tire of it because they get to move differently each time the leader changes course.

Balance

• Children develop balance from the time they're newborns to about 10-years-old, at which point their balance has equalized. For preschoolers, fitness games that incorporate balancing skills should be part of a day-to-day movement regimen. Such games should encourage children to progress from simple to complex balance, such as balancing with an object in hand or standing on an unstable base. You can structure a fitness game that uses balancing stations, with each station progressing in difficulty. For the first station, the child must march on stilts made from coffee tins. By the time the child arrives at the last station, he must balance a book on his head while navigating a zigzag line taped on the floor.

Cardiovascular

• Jumping games can help a child develop strengthen muscles and cardiovascular stamina. You can structure a jumping game as a dance, story or a competition. Preschoolers enjoy mimicking animals. Make placards of different animals that jump, such as rabbits, frogs and kangaroos. With music playing in the background, you can ask the children to pretend they are the animal on the placard and jump. Competitions that challenge preschoolers to jump far or jump high are easy to set up outdoors with a measuring tape and chalk to mark the length or height of the jump. You can also act out stories, such as Jack Be Nimble, with preschoolers. Each child gets a chance to be "Jack" and leap over the "candlesticks," while the other children chant the rhyme.

Benefits

• Fitness games for preschoolers can help build a child's physical abilities and improve health. While expressive movement gives children an outlet for feelings, functional movement boosts a child's self-esteem via the completion of challenging tasks.