Body Integration: Ride a Box

Try adapting this activity to use boxes on the slide in the playground.

Objectives

Children participating are able to maintain balance while moving on scooter board
and able to knock down with both hands objects which are along path of movement.
Children ages 1 ½ years are able to re-establish balance when falls or is pushed GM III

Materials

Scooter board (Scooter boards are not hard to make. Take a 15x17" piece of 3/4" plywood, put 4 revolving casters on one side and pad the other side with a carpet scrap)*; cardboard box; incline ramp 1-2' high at one end; bowling pins; inner tubes or hoops; bean bags, nerf balls, etc.
*See MOVEMENT--"Body Integration: Scooter Boards"

Procedures

1. If possible, have two teachers supervising two ramps with 3-4 children using each ramp. With one teacher, one ramp and 5 kids maximum.

2. Children take turns riding down ramp on scooter board. Teacher holds scooter board securely as children climb on and get bodies centered. They can sit cross-legged, kneel, or lie on belly with knees bent and heads up.

3. After becoming accustomed to riding on the scooter board, each child can hold a large ball or cardboard tube in both hands and try to knock down bowling pins set up along line of movement on both sides of ramp. Vary the challenge: grab one or more pins on the way down; throw a beanbag through hoop or into box; try to throw 2 beanbags (1 per hand) into 2 boxes on either side of ramp; 4 or 5 pins could be staggered along the path of the scooter board. Let kids choose the challenges they want.

4. Children waiting for turns can assume other roles: a) retrieving balls, b) setting up pins, hoops, boxes according to the next rider's directions, c) helping friends climb onto boards.

5. Children with less balance skill can use cardboard boxes as scooters on ramps 3-4' high. Kids could try riding two to a box in this arrangement.