Your Child Will Learn
A fun way to move their body and build physical endurance
Here’s What to Do
- Choose which races you want to try. Gather your supplies. Find a long space to be your race course, and mark the start and finish lines with rope or tape.
- Challenge Ideas:
- Pillowcase Race: Step inside of a pillowcase, and hold the sides with your hands. Hop your way from the start to the finish.
- Three-Legged-Race: Find a partner. Stand next to each other, and tie your inside legs together (one partner’s left leg tied to one partner’s right leg) using string, a pair of tights, or an exercise band. Work together to get to the finish line. (easier version: each person holds one end of a water bottle with their hand)
- Wheelbarrow Race: Find a partner. One person gets into plank/pushup position, and the other person grabs their feet. The front person has to race using only their hands, and the other person holds their feet.
- Spoon Balance Race: Each person needs a spoon and a small ball. Balance the ball on the spoon and start the race! If you drop the ball, pick it up and keep going.
- Any other ideas your family comes up with!
- Run your races!
- If playing with several people, whoever crosses the finish line first, wins.
- If playing with only yourself and one child, you can go one at a time and time yourselves to see who has the best time. Or, you can do each race a few times and see if you can beat your best time.
Put PEER Into Action
PAUSE
- Stretch your legs before you begin. Touch your toes and stretch any other leg muscles you’d like (calf, quadricep, hip flexor, etc.)
ENGAGE
- “How fast can we get from the start to the finish with our legs tied together?”
- “Can you walk only on your hands? I’ll hold your legs, let’s see if we can do it!”
ENCOURAGE
- “Wow, it is super tricky to race this way. We’re trying our best and having fun and that’s all that matters!”
- “Whoa- you kept trying even though it was so hard for you. You should be proud of yourself!”
REFLECT
- Which race was the hardest? Easiest? Most fun?
Not Quite Ready
Just run a simple race- no challenges included.
Ready for More
Time your child completing each race, and see if they can improve on their time (and their endurance, running each race a few times).
As Your Child Masters This Skill
They will know several fun ways to move their bodies, and will improve endurance and coordination.
Time to Complete
20 minutes
Materials Needed
Rope or tape. For Pillowcase Race: a pillowcase for each racer. For Three-Legged Race: string, tights, or exercise bands. For Spoon Balance Race: spoons and small ball for each racer