physical education class for kindergarten

Lesson Plan Sections

• Environmental (1)
• Science (1)

P.E. Lessons

Physical education prepares children for an active and healthy life while improving self discipline and reducing stress. This section includes PE lessons from kindergarten through high school spanning different skill levels and objectives. Lessons are categorized by grade for easy retrieval. These lessons were created by real teachers working in schools across the United States. The section will continue to grow as more teachers like you share your lesson plans. We encourage you! Share your lessons plans Teacher.org, contact us .

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P.e. environmental lesson plans, food chain tag.

Students will learn a brief background about energy transfer between the sun, producers, primary consumers, and secondary consumers. ½ of the students are primary consumers (plants) and ¼ of the students are primary consumers (rabbits) and ¼ of the students are secondary consumers (hawks).

P.E. P.E. Lesson Plans

Aces and exercise.

Using a deck of playing cards, the students will pick the number of reps for various exercises.  

And Freeze!

Students will practice listening skills and basic physical concepts as required in physical education class. Students will also work on balance and coordination.

Animal Laps

Combining information about the speed of animals, the students will run laps in the gym or outdoors.

Basketball Relay

Students will practice teamwork, dribbling, and shooting a basketball.

Bear Hunt Obstacle Course

This plan will combine reading with balance and coordination skills to allow students to navigate a simple obstacle course.

Boom Over Movement Game

Students will play a game in which they need to change direction quickly. Students are to pretend that they are on a sailboat that is in the middle of a storm. They will have to run and change direction based on verbal commands and duck quickly to avoid being hit by the imaginary boom.

Butterfly Stretches

This lesson is designed to help students learn the importance and reasons for exercise through multiple activities and discussions.

Coordination Course

This plan will allow students to practice coordination while staying physical.

Multi-Ball Basketball

The student will participate in a game of basketball using various sizes of available balls.

Music Movement

The students will move to the music based on its beat, words, tune, and other variables.

On Top of Spaghetti

Pe immigration.

The students will research games and activities from other countries to share during a PE class.

Pass It Off

This lesson will allow students to practice passing, dribbling, and bouncing skills using basketballs

Plate Aerobics

Students will practice basic aerobics moves while trying to stay positioned on paper plates, this aids in coordination.

Race to the Answer

This lesson will allow students to practice teamwork, basic math skills, and get exercise through a relay race. Note: Problems/difficulty level can be altered by grade

Ride ‘Em Cowboy/girl

This lesson will allow students to practice gross motor skills.  

Students will practice listening skills and basic physical concepts as required in physical education class.

Ski to the Finish Line

This plan will allow students to practice coordination while staying physical. Students will demonstrate moving straight, backwards, and in a zig-zag pattern.

The New PE Class

The students will create a PE activity to share and demonstrate to peers.

This lesson will allow students to practice teamwork and trust building, as well as working on directionality for younger students.

What Time is it FOX?

The students play a game where they practice different movements including jumping, galloping, skipping, running, jogging, leaping, and walking. Based on National Physical Education Standards, students should have been learning these skills for the last 4 years.

P.E. Science Lesson Plans

Ready to pursue a master’s degree in education make it your time.

Teacher.org’s lesson plans encourage conceptual understanding and lifelong learning skills in students as well as empower and motivate teachers.

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Kindergarten

Music in PE and playlist idea

I’ve found that playing music adds a wonderful dimension to a PE class. I

Hopscotch and Making Recess Better!

New post found at https://healthbeet.org/3-classic-recess-games-filling-a-recess

Animal warm-up

  Add some fun and creativity to your warm-ups with this animal warm-up. &n

Warm-up dance for Christmastime

I am very insecure when it comes to teaching dances.  However, this particu

Using stations/centers/rotations in PE class

A popular day in my PE class is when we do “PE centers” (or rotation

Kindergarten and spatial awareness

One of my main objectives with my kindergarten classes is to teach them spatial

Fire and Ice Tag game

My first and second graders love tag games.  This is a fun spin on frozen tag.

Scoops and Balls

scoops and balls This post has permanently been moved here.

“UNO” warm-up game

I pulled out an old set of “UNO” cards this week and used them for a

“Frozen” tag

Does anyone else have young classes that are obsessed with the movie Frozen?  M

Privacy Overview

PE challenges for kindergartners, 1st, and 2nd graders

by: Jessica Kelmon | Updated: May 5, 2024

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Encourage your child to try one of these physical challenges before they sit down to work quietly and as a break between tasks that take concentration. Little kids will have fun doing these challenges — and they’ll find it easier to focus after they’ve got their wiggles out. In addition to being kid-friendly, exercises for kids are great for your child’s brain development .

20 great exercises for kids

The 5 ways to walk challenge, the jumping jacks challenge, the sprint-walk-skip-hop challenge, dance along and pop the corn, great big moose, clap stomp jump, be a butterfly and try yoga, play freeze dance, boom chicka boom, head, shoulders, knees, and toes, poppin’ bubbles, balancing act, do the gummy bear, starfish jumps, the windmill, jumping jelly beans, scissor kicks.

Check out these exercises for kids in third through fifth grade , too.

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28 Best PE Games With Absolutely No Equipment

P.E. lessons can be a bit daunting at times. All that equipment to organize and worry about. Yuck!

Then there are the safety aspects to consider. Eek!

The good news is, there are plenty of simple P.E. games that you can use with no equipment!

The Ultimate List of PE Games With No Equipment

Whether you need ideas for Kindergarten PE games, or PE games for preschool this list will spark the creativity you need for gym class or at home!

I’ve been teaching in early education for the best part of 20 years now, and in that time I’ve come up with a full armory of the very best PE games WITH NO EQUIPMENT! Woop!

Table of Contents

That’s right! Just a group of children are enough to create many games and have plenty of fun.

All you need are a good space and plenty of energy, so let’s go!

1. Stop And Go Bubbles

Practice drawing a great big pretend bubble with your finger in the air.

Reach up as high as you can and reach down as low as you can. Really reach all the way around you.

If you can reach and touch anyone else with our moving your feet you are too close to move away and make sure you are in your own space.

Stretch out in your bubble to make sure you can’t touch anyone else’s just in case you should burst their bubble.

Ask the children to move like a bubble and float around the space. How freeing and mindful this bit is!

When you tell them to stop, make sure their bubble is in a good space so that no one can burst it.

2.Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)

This is a brilliant pairs game, that is good as a warm-up or as a fun game on it’s own!.

What you do is invent three movements and demonstrate them to the group.

Once you’ve played it a couple of times, the kids can come up with their own ideas.

Three examples of moves could be:

• Doing star jumps
• Doing Jazz hands
• Jumping a 360 spin on the spot

Then everyone gets a partner.

The true challenge now is to activate your ESP, which (as pretty much all kids seem to know), is your Extra-Sensory Perception. Simply put, this is the ability to read your partner’s mind (which is very exciting).

Everyone displays one of the three moves at the same time. You want to do the move that you think your partner will do.

Do the same move? Woo woo! You activated your ESP.

Different move? Just try again.

Keep going for a few goes, before changing partners to see if your ESP works better or worse on other people.

As well as being a great PE activity, I often use this as a circle time game in class. This is one of the favorite games from my book 101 Circle Time Games…That Actually Work!

This book contains all the very best mindfulness circle games, active circle games, math games, literacy circle games, and so much more! You can check out the book here.

3. Foxes And Hares

Once the children have got a good understanding of space, and they can stop and start on your command, there are lots of fun PE games you can introduce.

Foxes and hares is a classic chase game .

Aim of the game: To catch all the hares of course!

About a fifth of the children should be foxes. So if you are playing with 10 children, 2 children can be foxes. 

The hares move around the space by hopping. To hop, they should move both feet together and then put two hands together on the floor, just like a rabbit or a hare moves in bunny hops.

The foxes also move on four legs (hands and feet) but they should be quicker as they are less restricted.

To catch a hare, simply touch them (gently, please! No fox attacks).

When all the Hares are caught by the foxes, the game is over and you start a new game with a new group of foxes.

4. Trains and Tunnels

This is a similar version to the game above. There are always loads of train enthusiasts among pretty much any age of children, so this game is always a winner.

Choose a few children to be the trains. 

Explain that the rest of the children are tunnels. They should make a tunnel by putting both their hands and feet on the floor and arching their back as high as they can to make a high tunnel with their body. 

The trains should run around the space until you shout Whoo Whoo.

At the sound of the train whistle, they should crawl through as many of the tunnels as they can. 

When a train has been through a tunnel, the tunnel is released and becomes a train. 

Keep playing until all the tunnels are trains. 

This is a fun game for pairs.

One child is the leader, the other is their shadow.

Explain how your shadow does exactly what you do. It follows you everywhere, and your movements are identical.

As the leaders move around the space, the shadow follows and copies exactly what they do.

Encourage the children to use different levels of movement.

• Roll on the floor
• Move on your hands and knees
• Move on one or two feet

Encourage them to use different speeds of movement

• Move slowly and gracefully
• Move quickly and craftily

Encourage them to use different balances

• Balance on one foot
• Balance on all fours
• Balance on two feet and one hand

Remember to swap over so that both children have a chance to be the leader. 

6. Good Toes Naughty Toes

This is another simple listening game requiring no equipment and it can be played as an indoor and outdoor game.

There are two instructions that the children are going to listen out for. Those are:

Good toes – They should stand completely still with their feet together

Naughty toes – They should dance around wildly using the space and not bumping into anyone else. (Music can be used if you want to)

This game is all about freedom and expression!

7. Noisy Running!

This is possibly my all-time favorite mindful PE game.

This is best done outside in a large space.

The idea is that the children are going to move and make noises at the same time. The volume of the sound they make will be directly linked to how fast they move.

Start by all humming very faintly, and walking really slowly.

Then try a fast walk, and raise the volume of the sound coming out of everyone’s mouth.

Then try light jogging, with a medium noise – aaaaahh – coming from everyone’s mouth, about the volume of talking.

Keep getting faster and increasing the volume! When you are running at full pelt, you will also be yelling as loud as possible – AHHHHH!

I like to do this activity in a structured way to introduce it and mix up the speeds/volumes for a while.

But then, for a couple of minutes, let the children ‘freestyle’. They choose their speeds and volumes and race around.

This activity is all about mindfulness , and experiencing a sense of freedom and liberation from inhibitions!

8. Floating!

Another mindful PE activity here.

Get the children to stand in a space and close their eyes. Then you are going to help them to visualize that they are transforming into something that floats or flies!

It could be:

Let’s imagine we start with the balloon.

Tell the children to visualize they are slowly changing into a balloon. Their skin is becoming colored rubber. And now someone is blowing them up, and they are getting lighter and lighter, and larger and larger.

Then, tell them they are fully inflated.

The children open their eyes, and now they are going to imagine they are floating like balloons around the space!

Off they go – billowing and wafting in the breeze.

After a couple of minutes, you can try transforming into feathers or eagles.

9.  Be The Teacher

This is a good way for children to start to think about the quality of their movements in PE class.

Work in pairs again. One child should be the teacher. 

Explain that as the teacher, they have to help their pupil make the best quality moves and shapes that they possibly can.

It depends on what kind of moves you are working on, but I like to do this with gym moves.

Try moves like:

• Forward roll
• 360 jump rotation

Ask one child to demonstrate the move, and the other child should help them to make it perfect.

Encourage the children to be kind and helpful. For example, they might say things like:

Tuck your head in a bit more.

Can you straighten your legs even more?

Can you reach up taller?

Ask them to use lots of praise if they spot some good quality movements and make sure they tell their partner what they are doing well.

Don’t forget to swap so that everyone has a go at being the teacher.

10. Make A Shape

Put the children in groups of 4 or 5 and give them the challenge of working as a team to make a shape.

Explain that they can work on the floor, lying down or standing up, as long as the shape is clear.

Begin with the basic shapes of:

circle, triangle, square rectangle

Build up to more difficult shapes like:

stars, hexagons, ovals, rhombus, or octagon

11. Body Letters And Numbers

You can extend this from shapes to letters of the alphabet or numbers.

Simply ask the children to make a letter by working together to get into the shape. This is a good activity for team building as they will have to work together and everybody is needed. 

12. Dance Like No-One’s Watching

Dancing is good for you for so many reasons. It’s a workout for the whole body, it encourages you to keep a beat and keep in time with music, and most of all, it’s fun.

It’s good for the soul, so put some happy upbeat music on and encourage some free dancing.

Clap your hands, wiggle your hips, wave your arms. Have fun!!

13.  Heart Monitors

It’s important for children to know that exercising makes changes to our bodies so that they aren’t frightened by the changes and they understand what is happening to them. 

This is a nice activity to explain those changes so that the children understand that it is perfectly normal.

Count down one minute of any kind of high-intensity exercise, for example:

• Fast running on the spot with high knees 
• Tuck jumps with both feet together
• Pretending to skip on the spot as fast as you can
• Burpees (lay down then jump up)

Really encourage the children to put lots of effort in here.

When the minute is up, encourage the children to put their hands on their hearts and feel it beating.

If they’ve put enough effort in, it should be pounding. Ask them to feel their forehead – it should be at least warm, if not hot and sweaty. 

Notice how fast their breathing is when they stop. They should be out of puff.

With older children, you could ask them to take their own pulse before and after exercising and see how much their pulse rate has increased. 

14. Eight Dance!

This is a great dancing game for kids of all ages.

Put some pumping music on to get everyone going!

Then pick some kind of action or dance move, and everyone does it eight times to the music while also counting at the same time – ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!’

So, you might do eight star-jumps while counting. Or eight big marches on the spot.

Then shout out a new action, and start that, keeping the counting going throughout.

Some other good dances/actions could be:

• Arms up arms down
• Punch the air with one arm, then the other
• Arms wide, arms across your body
• Walking in place

For the older ones, the emphasis is on the movement. But for younger kids, this is also a great rote counting activity.

15. Animal Copy Cat

One child will be the leader in this game. This is the ‘cat’ that the others will try to copy.

The leader is going to pretend to move like an animal. Everyone else will copy!

For example, they might move like a monkey. They will stoop low, and swing their arms like a monkey. Everyone copies!

After a while, the leader will change the animal. They might pretend to be an elephant!

The trick is for everyone to watch for the transition and try to copy.

The leader can mix things up as quickly or slowly as they like.

16. Animal Freeze!

This is a variation of the animal copycat game above with a bit of music added.

Once again, have a leader that is going to pretend to be different animals that the others copy.

Put on some music, and the kids move around like the animal that the leader is demonstrating.

The adult will pause the music at any given moment. The children must then freeze in their best animal pose! It’s a bit like musical statues at this point. Anyone that moves could be out! (Or you can just play the non-competitive version where everyone gets to carry on each time).

17. Transformers

Wow – transformers are one of the most exciting things on the planet for many kids.

And this game really taps into this enthusiasm.

The kids are all now shape-shifting transformers. They can transform in the blink of an eye into many different types of vehicles, and move around the space like them.

Some good vehicles to try include:

• Train – with ‘chugging’ arms and lots of tooting!
• Helicopter – arms as rotas spinning over your head
• Racing cars – running around as fast as possible!
• Plane – Lots of swooping and soaring
• Monster trucks – Be as big and wide as you can

18. Mr Men/Little Miss Game

The idea of this is that the kids pretend to be some of the characters out of the Mr. Men and Little Miss books.

Some good ones to try include:

Mr. Grumpy – stamp around the room with your angriest face

Mr. Tall – Stretch up and walk as tall as you can

Mr. Bump – Go round bumping into walls and imaginary objects (though not other people)

Little Miss Tiny – Curl up like a tiny weeny ball

Lots of modeling of movements work well for this game – both from the adult and skillful children.

19. Child-Friendly Yoga

I find yoga is most effective with children when they can readily understand that the pose they are doing is mimicking something.

Some great poses that mimic things that children know are:

Household Yoga

In this, the kids mimic everyday actions in the house. It could be sweeping the floor, or washing the pots.

Lie on your front, with your hands flat on the floor next to your face.

Push upwards until your arms are straight, your chest is off the floor, and your back is arched.

This stretches the back and abdomen.

Giraffe Pose

Stand with one foot in front of the other.

Reach up high with both hands (this being the giraffe’s neck.) Then slowly bend down, and touch your leading foot with both hands.

Then slowly return to the original position.

Turtle Pose

Lie on your back. Pull your knees into your chest so that you form a ball shape. Slowly rock backward and forwards.

Your curved back forms the turtle’s ‘shell’.

20. Bean Game

This is one of those all-time classics that I thought I should include on this list.

The children pretend to be types of beans, each of which has its own separate movement.

Model two or three bean movements to start off with, have a practice, and then all play the game. Add more bean movements when the children get more confident.

The adult simply calls out a bean name, and the children move in that way.

The beans and associate movements are:

Sprouting bean  – Walk around on your tip-toes, with your arms stretched as high above you as possible

Baked bean  – Sit down on the floor

Broad bean  – Try to be as wide as possible! Walk around like this

Beans on toast  – Lie down on the floor

Chilli bean  – Shiver! This is a ‘pun’ on the word ‘chilli/chilly’ (obviously!)

Jelly bean  – Wibble and wobble!

Runner bean  – Run around like crazy

French bean  – Say, ‘Bonjour!

When you’ve played a few times, a child could potentially become the leader of this game.

21. Action Stories

This is a really good way of combining storytelling, listening, and action!

The adult makes up a story, and the children act it out.

After you’ve done it a few times, a confident child might well be able to lead this.

You want to have lots of active characters in the story, such as stamping giants, witches on broomsticks, unicorns galloping, and all that kind of thing.

As well as that, it’s good to have lots of action, such as terrible storms blowing, landslides, sinking sand, and all the rest of it.

The kids act all of these things out.

A sample start of a story might go:

‘One day the giant went stamping off through the forest. A terrible wind began to blow. The trees were swaying from side to side. Suddenly a unicorn came galloping into the forest to save the giant…’

I’m sure you get the picture!

22. Traffic Lights

Here’s another absolute classic of the repertoire!

In this, the children will pretend to be cars, and the adult gives different verbal instructions that the cars respond to.

The easiest way to play the game is to have three simple instructions that correspond to the colors of a traffic light:

Green  – Go! Jog around the space

Red  – Stop still

Yellow  – Walk on the spot, ready to go

Start easy, but you can always add more elements to the game when they are ready. Some other verbal cues include:

Honk the horn  – A noisy one, this! Go round tooting!

Roundabout  – Jog around in a narrow circle

Parking Lot (or car-park)  – Lie down on the floor

Freeway  – Run as fast as you can

23. Fox and Chickens

This is a variation of a basic tag game .

The idea is to mix up the game by incorporating a theme that the children are interested in.

So, you could have a fox catching chicken by tagging them. Or one of the following:

• A shark catching fishes
• A bird catching worms
• Or a witch catching children

Anything you think the children will respond to is fine.

24. HIIT Session

Here is a simple idea, that is great for fitness for all ages.

You have a structured sequence of activities that you perform together. Spend about thirty seconds on each movement, with a fifteen-second break.

Some simple moves include:

• Reach up, reach down
• Jumping like a frog
• Jumping in place
• Reach to one side, reach to other

For older or more skillful children, you can try some of these:

You can do one round of the activities or even two or three reps!

25. Simon Says Active Version

Of course, you all know the basic idea of Simon Says .

But it works really well in PE sessions if you make the moves super-active!

So, rather than ‘Simon says touch your nose’ kind of instructions, you want to think more along the lines of ‘Simon says crawl like snakes across the floor!’

Some other good examples might be:

‘Simon says wade through the muddy swamp.’

‘Simon says climb the rope ladder.’

‘Simon says run like a cheetah on all fours!’

26. Captain’s Coming

This is another game that is donkey’s old, but children love it generation after generation.

All the kids pretend to be on a boat. The adult gives orders to the ‘crew’.

These include:

Scrub the deck  – Get on hands and knees and start scrubbing the floor!

Swim to shore  – Use a powerful front crawl to move around the space

Into the hammock  – Lie down on the floor

Lift the cannonballs  – Lift up those super heavy cannonballs, and load them into the cannon!

Row the boat  – Row!

Captain’s coming  – Salute!

27.Melting Moments

This is a visualization and mindfulness game that is great as a warm-down.

The children are going to be imagining that they are something that melts. For example, they could be:

-A chocolate bar

-An ice-cube

Let’s imagine we go for ‘snowman’. Tell the children to stand in a space and then close their eyes.

Tell them to imagine that they are transforming into a snowman. They can feel their freezing cold body, their carrot nose, and coal for their eyes.

But now the hot sun has come out. You can feel the warmth on your face!

Feel how the snow is melting your body. Water is starting to drip down the snowman.

Imagine you are shrinking! You are getting lower to the ground! And finally, you are a steaming puddle lying on the floor.

(Ask the children to lie down and imagine this!)

28. Figures Of Eight

This is a good game to use as a warm-down.

The basic idea is that the kids stand in a space, and they are going to form a large figure 8 in the air with different parts of their bodies.

Start with their finger, but then move on to using their:

Warming Up And Cooling Down

To warm-up before PE Class or a fun activity at home, I like to play some music with a good steady beat and perform some repetitive actions for the children to copy. I make sure I warm up my arms, shoulders, feet, legs, hips, and neck. 

To cool down after PE games, try some nice long stretches for all the different body parts. I always like to finish a cool-down with some big deep breaths. Scoop up some air, stretch up and hold it above your head and then blow it away as you release your arms back down to your sides. 

Not Just Good For Physical Learning

One of the biggest benefits of daily physical activity is that children’s behavior improves as well as their overall confidence and independence. Check out this study on tracking of physical activity into into adulhood for more information on the benefits of PE Games .

Now that’s something worth trying for.

Good luck if you try out any of these fun PE games!

20 Simple Ideas for Kindergarten P.E. with Minimal Equipment

Important: Always make sure you have enough space for these activities! Also, think about the level your pupils are at currently and if they can participate in the activity safely.

1. STAR JUMPS

Say ‘Arms out!’ and jump, landing with your arms and legs out like a star. Shout ‘Arms in!’ and jump, landing so you are stood up straight with your arms at you side. Do this with the class a few times, and then say they have 10 seconds to do as many star jumps as they can. After you’ve given them ten seconds, ask a few students how many they did. This makes things competitive, and you can now get all the children to try again and see how many star jumps they can get in another 10 second period. This time round they’ll start doing super-fast star jumps as if their lives depended on it. Very good exercise to wake up sleepy students! Oh, and don’t be surprised if the children go from saying they managed to do 10-12 star jumps in 10 seconds to eventually topping each other by telling you they did 100+! 2. FUNNY RUNNING

Have all the children sit against a wall or in a line. They then have to run to the opposite wall or another line in a certain specified way. You can tell them to run as tigers, as elephants, as birds or whatever else you can think of. As snakes is particularly good, as they then have to commando crawl across the gym. You can also have them walking backwards, walking like robots, walking sideways like a crab or dancing across Gangnam-style.

The main thing here is that they aren’t allowed to stand up and start moving until you count down ‘3, 2, 1, GO!’. You can have fun by not saying the right number and so making them do false starts. If I see any children who have started to stand up before I’ve counted down, then I’ll usually make everyone sit back down before starting the countdown again. The more you build up the anticipation of what they are about to do, the more they’ll jump wholeheartedly into doing it! 3. TEEPEE-PENCIL

All the children stand up and are free to walk around the gym. When you shout ‘teepee!’ they have to put both their hands together above their heads and then not move. If you shout ‘pencil!’ then they have to stand with their arms at their side.

Slowly build in more commands lesson by lesson. I also used ‘ball!’ where they had to curl up in a ball on the floor, and ‘tree!’ where the kids had to stand with their arms out like tree branches. If I shouted ‘bridge!’ then they would have to make an arch with their body, keeping their hands and feet on the floor. If you shout ‘fall!’ or maybe ‘starfish!’, then they have to flop flat on the ground.

Once the children have got the hang of the game, you could work in some commands which require them to make a shape with other children. For example, ‘super bridge!’ means they have to link arms with a classmate to make a big arch.

You can get the class to work up quite a sweat if you go back and forth between commands like ‘teepee’ and ‘starfish’, as they’ll be standing up then flinging themselves down again and again!

TIP: Why not save your voice and link each command to a number of blows of a whistle? 4. PAIRS

Choose one student or use a fellow teacher to demonstrate what you want the kids to do. Everyone has to find one other student to stand back-to-back with and then link arms with that other person.

You then shout ‘Change!’ and start counting down from 5. Within those 5 seconds, all the students have to find a new person to stand with and link arms. With younger children you don’t need to put any more rules in and they’ll be happy to run around screaming looking for someone to link arms with! 5. JUMP JUMP

All the students stand against one wall or sit on a line. The winner is the first person to touch the opposite wall or line. BUT they can only move towards the ‘winning’ wall in certain ways.

If you shout ‘1 jump!’, the students can take 1 jump towards the winning wall. If you shout ‘1 step!’, then they can take one big step towards the wall. You can vary up the number of steps or jumps they are allowed to take.

Every lesson I have a different word which acts as my ‘monster’ word. If I say the ‘monster’ word, then all the students have to run back and touch the wall where they started from originally to be ‘safe’. If I can tag any of the students before they reach the wall then they have been caught by the monster and are out of this round.

Any child that is caught taking more than the number of jumps or steps you said has to go back to the beginning and start over again. If you have students who are always edging forward or taking more jumps than they should, you can shout the monster word. Because they’ve taken additional steps, they’ll be nearer to the winning wall and closer to you and so more liable to being caught.

TIP: After a few rounds, train up one pupil to take over the ‘teacher’ role. 6. MONSTER

All the students sit down against one wall. They have to run across the gym and reach the other wall and then sit down. One or two students are chosen by the teacher to be ‘monsters’, and they stand up in the middle of the gym. The teacher says ‘go!’ and all the students try and run past the monsters and reach the other side. If a monster tags a student before they can reach the other side and sit down, then the student is eliminated from the game.

I find that if you let eliminated students become monsters too, you’ll quickly find half of your class trying to get caught on purpose as they want to be made into a monster! This kind of ruins the game. Also, if you have too many monsters in the middle then you can’t police things, and you’ll find that there are some students who don’t want to be made into monsters EVER, and who will therefore lie about being tagged unless you see it happen and enforce the rules.

With only having two or maybe three monsters in the middle, the teacher can act as a referee and call out any student they see getting tagged.

If you have them, you can give the monsters a foam stick or something similar to use to tag other students.

TIP: Again, keep things fast. You don’t want children eliminated for more than a few minutes before going back in. 7. RUNNING ELIMINATION

The class stand against one wall. You say ‘Ready, Go!’. The class have to run and touch the other wall before you blow your whistle. You can run this like a ‘beep test’ and gradually increase how quickly you whistle.

When I say ‘Ready, go!’ I point to the wall they have to run to. Sometimes, when the children are halfway across I’ll point at the other wall and say ‘Ready, go!’. This means all the pupils now have to stop running and quickly change direction to run back to the wall they just came from. It’s pretty fun if you do this a few times in a row! This is also a good way to keep slower children in the game for a few more rounds.

If a student doesn’t make it to the wall before you blow your whistle then they are eliminated. Keep doing this until you have a few pupils left, they are the winners. Ideally by the time you finish, the children who win should be drenched in sweat and barely able to catch their breath because they’ve been running so much! 8. ON YOUR MARKS

All the children stand against one wall. You say ‘On your marks!’ and they get into the first running position (on all fours). You say ‘Get set!’ and they lift their knees off the ground, ready to start running. You shout ‘Go!’ and they have to race to the other side of the gym and back. 9. SPRINT RACE

Have all the children sit along the side and choose two or three students. They stand in a line. Place a cone per student halfway across the gym and another one at the far end of the gym.

When you say go, they have to run to their nearest cone and then run back to where they started, then run past the cone to the far side of the gym to the second cone. They have to jump up and down five times (counting out loud) before running back to their starting position. 10. FETCH

Get 3 or 4 students up and have them stand in a line. Choose some different coloured balls, one for each student. You throw the balls and then the pupils have to run and grab their colour, then bring it back to you. First person to do this is the winner. This is particularly funny with very bouncy balls! 11. WALK WALK RUN

Best for very young children (2-3 years old). Have them stand at one side of the gym. Start walking to the other side of the gym saying ‘Walk, walk, walk’, then at a certain point shout ‘RUN!’, at which point everyone runs to the other side of the gym and touches the wall. Sounds very simple but they love it! 12. TOUCH SOMETHING GREEN

The teacher says ‘touch something…’ and then whatever they want. E.g. ‘Touch something blue, touch something green, touch something big’. 13. SPEED THROWING

The teacher gives one of two students a ball and stands them a short distance apart. The students then have one minute to make as many throws to each other as possible. If they drop the ball then that throw doesn’t count. Once they have set a target, choose another two students who are sitting nicely to come up and try and beat that score. If you have enough balls you can then have pupils pair up and all have a try at the same time. 14. HIGH FIVE CHALLENGE

For all pupils. They have 30 seconds to try and high five as many of their classmates as possible. 15. HOOP RUN

Another simple game for very young students. Scatter coloured hoops on the floor. You shout a colour and the children have to run and stand in the hoop that is the colour you shouted out. 16. 1,2,3!

Similar to the game above. Put together different numbers of blocks and place them round the gym. The students then have to run to the place that has the right number of blocks when you shout it out. E.g. you say ‘3!’ and they have to run and touch the stack of 3 blocks. There’s no need to do this as an elimination activity usually, as very young children will be quite happy doing this and just running around to the blocks. 17. RELAY RACE

Divide the class into a few teams and have them stand in a line. Each team gets one ball which they have to pass down the line. When the person at the back of the line gets the ball they run to the front and the process starts over. This continues until every member of a team has ran to the front (the person who was at the front at the beginning should now be at the front again). The first team to do this is the winner.

You can have them passing the ball over their heads or between their legs, or a mix of the two. With rowdier classes you can have them doing the relay while sitting down, which will keep them in a line and under control a bit more.

TIP: If you have an odd number of pupils left over, consider making these pupils your extra ‘referees’ for the round to make sure everyone follows the rules. 18. HOT OR COLD

One child is chosen to be the ‘searcher’. Without the searcher seeing, the teacher chooses another pupil who is the ‘magnet’. All of the pupils scatter and run around the gym until you tell them to freeze. They now all look at the searcher. The is the only person allowed to move and needs to walk up and tap the ‘magnet’ on the shoulder. To guide the searcher, the class can clap to help them: clapping slowly means ‘cold’ (you’re not close), then they can get louder and quicker as the searcher gets nearer to the ‘magnet’. When the searcher taps the magnet, everyone has a cheer! 19. RIVER JUMP

Put two sticks on the floor about half a metre apart. Tell the students this is a river, and they have to jump from one side to the other. Once they all do this you can move the sticks a little further apart. Have a few sets of sticks set out at different widths so that the children can move round and see which is the biggest river they can jump over.

Really young children (2-3) love this, though with you’ll find that to start off with they just do a little jump on the spot, then step over the sticks!

TIP: Choose some helpers from the class to stand at each ‘river’ and make sure the sticks are reset if they get knocked around. 20. SECRET SPY

Everyone closes their eyes and the teacher taps one pupil on the shoulder. That pupil is the ‘secret spy’ for this round.

The children have thirty seconds to run around and explore the gym, then when the teacher blows a whistle they can go to any corner they like and stand there. They look at the other children in the other corners of the gym as well as who is stood in their corner and try and remember who is where. The children are then given 30 more seconds to run around again but MUST all go back to the same corner they were in first time round. The only person who can’t do this is the pupil who was chosen as the ‘secret spy’. They MUST go to a different corner.

After the second round of running around, children raise their hand if they think they know who was the ‘secret spy’ this round. If they are right they win and you can start again. If they are wrong, you continue with another 30 second run around, and again the spy has to find a new corner to go to. How long can the spy remain undetected for?!?

44 Responses to 20 Simple Ideas for Kindergarten P.E. with Minimal Equipment

Thank you! It was really useful for me! 🙂

I find this very helpful! I’m gonna try four of them tomorrow! I’m sure my students are gonna love it. Thank you so much for sharing!

HI Naomi, nice to hear from you. New ideas go up on the blog twice a week so check back regularly for more activities!

This is extremely helpful! It is my first week teaching PE at an international school in China and I’m so nervous about teaching the youngest, pre-k and kindergarden. Thanks for these simple games!

Hi Marissa, Glad that you find them useful. I used some of those activities with students as young as 2. Just remember, make things silly and they’ll love it! Also, don’t bother trying to explain with words, just give them an example yourself and they’ll get the hang of things. Having the kids walk and then run from wall to wall could easily fill fifteen minutes of a lesson!

Many of these are PERFECT for my kindergarten class! Thank you so much!

Hi Lisa, happy to hear it!

These ideas helped me so much! Just got hired as support staff at an elementary school, and I needed ways to keep the kids from getting bored. Thanks!

Glad to hear you found the ideas useful, that’s what my blog is all about.

Wow these games are great.I can’t wait to go & teach my pupils tomorrow.Thank you very much.

You’ve got some great ideas here! My kindy class LOVE “Fetch!”

Hi Lisa, good to hear you’ve found the ideas useful! Sign up to follow my blog and get my newest ideas too.

Thanks so much for these ideas! I am working in a school with minimal equipment so these suggestions will really help. ?

Hi Hena, glad to hear they’ve been of use to you. Thanks for the comment.

Your ideas inspired me to think of bowling tag. The children would run from one wall to the other while one student tries to hit them by rolling a yoga ball across the floor. This is for K/1 grade for my homeschool co-op. Thanks for your help!

Glad you liked the ideas, and thanks for the comment!

Thank you for the ideas:) I am volunteering at my childs school where there is no gym teacher. I am not in any way a gym teacher but they don’t care as long as we are having fun! They get so excited to see me coming and they love when I incorporate different types of pranayama ( yoga breathing techniques). I taught yoga to adults so it is fun to see how the children love to get happy on breath too:) Your website is inspiring me to think outside the box of traditional gym class. Thanks again, next step is parachute games!

Hi Andrea, brilliant to hear you’re making the lessons fun! Thanks for the comment.

love your games, and have tried most of them with my P1/2 infant class in Scotland. Thank you for your great ideas 🙂

Thanks for the feedback, always glad to hear from someone who has used the games with their class!

Love your blog of games. Thanks so much. It’s always nice to get new ideas to plant in my garden of PE teaching.

Hi Maureen, I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. Always happy to hear from someone who uses the activities!

I was looking for something to entertain my three granddaughters at the wellness center gym.. several of them will be great fun!! Thanks to you!!

Hi Linda, great to hear the activities have proved useful!

wow this is great. My reception class will now have fun during the p.e lessons in kenya

Hi Lydia, glad to hear from you; you’re the first person I’ve heard from using my ideas in Africa!

Thank you so much for your wonderful ideas, I am using them in India 🙂

Hi Jessica, thanks for posting! India’s a new one, great news.

Thanks for posting this! I have been teaching kindergarten for about 10 years now. Never taught PE until this year. I was kind of short on ideas. This really helped. Thanks!

Have you ever tried……….

Caterpillar Races

All that is needed is a few balls. Students line up in groups of 4 or 5. The ball starts at the front of the group. Students pass the ball to the back. When the student in the back has the ball he runs to the front. Keep doing this until they get to the finish line.

Circle Game

Students hold hands and get in a circle. Give the students simple commands like…… big big big! (students make the circle bigger) small small small! (students make the circle smaller) sit down sit down! round and round! (students walk around in a circle holding hands) up up up, down down down! (holding hands students reach up and all the way down) spin spin spin! The list goes on.

Feel free to email me at ajarnron(at)yahoo.com. I have a few more PE games and activities. I would love to share more ideas that you could in turn share with everyone. Don’t really have time to start my own blog.

Thanks Again. Ron

Hi Ron, good to hear you found the ideas useful. I’ve emailed you about more ideas that I can stick on the blog. That circle game one sounds right up my street, good fun and simple to explain.

Reblogged this on Reshaping Thoughts .

Hello again from Thailand! At my current school we have a lot of moveable playground equipment. Slides and what not. I use these along with what ever I can find around the school, cones, small boxes, thick mats, etc. I use all of these things to create an obstacle course for the kids. I have them slide down the slide, jump over the boxes, zig-zag around the cones, roll on the mats, and crawl under a table, and balance on a bench. It works great! You can switch it up. The kids never get tired of doing it! Well they will get tired but never bored!

Another good one if you have a large TV or Projector that you can use. Check youtube for Yoga for kids. Tons of videos on their. The Students love it!

One more for today. I call it chair ball. You will need 2 baskets or boxes, lots of small plastics balls like you find in a ball room for kids. Most schools will have these. If not you can use just about anything really. Toys, blocks, etc. I usually do teams of boys vs. girls. It gets them really pumped up. One student from each team is on opposite sides with the basket standing on a chair. Pick 2-5 students from each team. Throw the objects in the middle. Students have to grab the objects one by one and put them in the baskets. Team with the most objects wins! Awesome!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this. I started a homeschool cooperative and have 18 kids coming tomorrow on our first day. It has been A LOT of work and I haven’t had a lot of time to plan for the last hour of co-op when we are in the gym. This post saved my life and your wonderful tips make me feel confident I can pull it off. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Thanks for the comment, really glad to hear that you found the ideas useful! Good luck with the kids!

Your suggestions have been so helpful to me!!! Thank you thank you thank you! I’m teaching a coop group of K-2 graders and I have lots of heart but no experience. So relieved and excited to give these a try. Your ideas are perfect because I have little to no money to spend on equipment. Your ideas give me time to figure out what I really would like to purchase if any. Guess I need a whistle!

Hey PEmom, Thanks for commenting. Glad to hear you liked the ideas!

I would love to add a game that I play with my kindergarten class at the beginning of the school year. It’s called Fire and Ice (hot and cold). I use blue pool noodles (cut in half) for tagging games so kids don’t have to get close to each other to tag– which results in falling down, tripping etc. I use small red gator balls, kitten balls or bean bags for the FIRE. We all start out walking because they will crash if they run. The blue ICE tags a student and they stand “frozen” with their hands out in front of them like a bowl. People with the red ball will run over and place the ball gently in their “bowl” to melt them. Then that person can say Thank You and go find their own person to thaw. This fosters an environment of teamwork, observation skills, kindness. I demonstrate with 3 kids and even have them shiver when they are frozen. The kids who are the FIRE take such pride in being a helper or rescuer! After about a minute, we switch the taggers. I tell them up front not everyone will get the chance to be a tagger (ICE) but it’s more important to rescue anyway so you will all the the RED ball. I use 3-4 blue noodles and 3-4 red balls. I did your Tee Pee pencil today– loved it!

Great Ideas and thanks so much for sharing

Im actually teaching in Taiwan and have been volunteered as the go-to PE teacher. Anyway I can add something to your Tee-Pee Pencil Game.

You can add some multi-child formations: 2 kids form a motorbike (by just holding hands), three kids make a rowboat (2 hold hands around the third – who is in the boat), 4 make a car and so on. This way if you do want to use it elimination style, you can call an even number formation say ‘Motorbike’ when there is an odd number of kids and vice versa . That way ensuring that you eliminate one child in each round.

I like the multi-child option! I’ll add it in soon.

Thanks, Michael

Thank you so much for sharing! The kids loved these activities.

Dodgeball with soft, round dog toys works well with 6/7 year olds.

Park Ranger – all kids have little cards – either snakes, birds, or cats and either red, yellow, green, or blue – to allow for larger class sizes. Two kids in the middle are Park Rangers. Teacher calls out gender, color, animal, class name, etc. – Call out everyone when numbers get small. Rangers tap children running across.

Monster Island – works best with kindergarten jungle gym, but it’s basically an obstacle course. Hot dog rolls, slither like a snake, hopscotch, backwards walk, through the jungle gym and down the slide, etc. Colored tape can map out the route. If you have a large mat, then it can be used as a lifeboat. Children would leap from the previous article to the mat. All kids have to stay on the mat until everyone has caught up. Teacher models how to go through. Children begin with the ominous warning monsters are coming and they have to traverse the route quickly. Chairs could be set in rows to mimic a spaceship or helicopter that would take them away from Monster Island.

These games seem really fun. Thank you so much….I would like to sign up with your blog to get more ideas.

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The PE Specialist

Awesome Resources for Physical Education Teachers

My First Week of School Lesson Plan

What do you do on your first week of school.

The first day is tough – you want to play some games, have some fun, but you know that you  need to establish the procedures and class expectations as well.

How do you accomplish all of it and what kinds of activities do you plan?

Remember, this is a great opportunity for you to establish the DNA of your Phys Ed program and set up the culture of your classroom.

Remember the old saying, “ An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure “.  I think about this every year before school begins and I think it rings true in our classrooms. The better you can setup your class culture at the beginning of the year, the easier it will be for you to avoid future problems and time wasted on management or behavioral issues.  This translates into what we all want – more teaching time for us and activity time for our students. 

Note that Kindergarten is a little different since most of them are brand new to school – Here are My Tips for Teaching Kindergarten

This is what I do with my 1st – 5th Grade students on their first day of Physical Education Class:

Let’s break down the first 2 weeks in PE below:

• Note : Feel free to use the presentation linked above, you’ll need to copy it to your Google Drive first.  Do this by going to “File” – “Make a Copy” you can then edit the copy in your Google Drive.   I can’t grant you access to edit it, since it’s the master copy 🙂
• You could also just throw up a few pictures on a slideshow to show kids some adventures you went on or some pictures of your family to help them connect with you and learn a little bit about you

Normally I try and shoot for 2-3 minutes for a video, but the one below I had to give myself 5 minutes because I had too much fun stuff to share  😁

• Create a video or slideshow showing students what activities they will be learning throughout the year
• Show them Part One of this 3 part Physical Literacy Series (check it out if you haven’t seen it) – We will have a short discussion about the student’s thoughts on the video and them move on to the next activity.

• Go over the 6 gym rules and consequences, talk about why they are important and ask students if they agree that they are fair, and make sure they don’t want to add any more or make any changes (Get them to buy-in).

My Management Overview and Rules Posters can be found here

• Mention and explain orange form to be filled out if students get injured , forget their tennis shoes or have to go to time out after a Strike 3.
• Go over stopping signal “1,2,3 signal” before beginning activity and then practice Walking and Jogging for 1-2 minutes – use the “1,2,3 signal” and “music off” to freeze students (see the example video below)

• Go over all the rules quickly, explain rules if needed.
• Summarize  – When the music is on you can get water or use the  bathroom, when the music is off, you need to be listening or lining up to leave the gym.

• Fire, Tornado/Earthquake, Code Red/Intruder Alert
• Note : Usually if I’m short on time I’ll save this part of the lesson for the next week so we can have time for the game – you know we gotta get moving 🙂
• Explain how the daily self assessment works and why we do it
• It is part of our GATOR Goals (Our school’s Mission/Vision Acronym – the T = Take responsibility for what you say and do)

• Play a Game for the last 15-20 minutes – Noodle Dance Tag ,   Adventure Bingo   or The Crazy Cards Challenge Icebreaker Game
• Preview Week 2 – Review the Gym Rules and Talk about the Conflict Corner , Get Home Base Spots and learn about the Daily Self Assessment, before the team building activity (usually a super fun team building activity called Hula Hut Relays or learning how to play Four Square so kids will know how to play at recess )

That’s it.  It’s definitely a full lesson and a lot to pack in, but I want to set expectations up front and lay the groundwork for a successful year.  I try to help the students have fun by moving them around a lot, making jokes and getting their feedback on the routines and procedures that we have in place.

Also, since I’ve been at my school for 15+ years, most of the kids are familiar with the routines we have so I can move through the content pretty quickly.   If you’re brand new to your school, you might want to break this lesson up into a 2 part lesson, since it will be the first time your students are being exposed to new routines/procedures/activities.

If you want to use the Google Slides that I use for my presentation on the first day you can copy   them HERE:

You can also download a free printable first week of school lesson plan below:

A Couple of My Favorite First Week Games

Adventure bingo.

If we have time, one of my favorite First Week of School Games is “ Adventure Bingo ” – you can check out the video and also download it below if you’re interested.

The Crazy Cards Challenge

The crazy cards challenge is a super fun activity for any students that can read, I normally use it for 3rd grade and up.  You can see an example of the game being played in the video below:

• You can see a more detailed breakdown of the game and get a link to purchase the cards on this post

P.S. If you’re interested in checking out all the Posters and Visuals I have up in my Gym you can find links to everything and a walkthrough of each poster here

Want to take a deep dive with us? 

Check out our Q & A Show episode below on tips for the first week of school:

Show Notes and Links from the episode above available here

Week 2 of PE Class

During Week 2 I usually hit all the rest of the procedures and routines that we didn’t cover during week one and then we play a fun team building game

• Instant Activity – Walking Lines and Jogging Lines
• You can check this post out for more info on Home Base Spots and to print the ones I use
• * I used to do this on day 1, but now I wait until week 2 to assign home base spots since many times our rosters aren’t very accurate until the first day of school and need more time to look at seating accommodations and see which kids I want to separate etc
• Learn our Daily Warmup Stretching Routine
• Discuss The Conflict Corner
• Discuss the Daily Self Assessment / Reflection
• Play a Game like Hula Hut Relays or Cross the River

Free Yearly Plan Template

Now that you’ve got your first couple weeks ready to go, knock our the rest of your year too!

To see an example of how I plan my entire year of PE and download a sample yearly plan Click the Link Below

Take 15 Minutes and Plan Out an Entire Year of PE Class

What do you do differently for your first week of school?

If you have some good ideas leave them in the comments.  Have a great first week!

Have Fun and Teach On!

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Reader Interactions

January 8, 2024 at 4:09 pm

As a senior student that’s about to graduate and start Elementary PE. Thank you so much for posting your blog on how you specifically address the rules, etc in your gym. From watching and learning from you, I already started making my own unique set of rules and self assessment.

Apart from seeing your classroom, I would like to know:

1. How many days p/wk do your students have PE and is it spread throughout the week, depending on the grade? 2. Compared to your gym, how many posters is appropriate for Elementary gym? 3. When it comes to elaborating the rules to students, how long should each definition be as far as time limit? 4. (Lastly)What website do you use for your go to PE music or does it really matter, it just has to be age appropriate.

January 9, 2024 at 6:41 am

Hey Jonathan,

Thanks for reaching out! Congratulations on your graduation! We look forward to you joining the PE world!

To answer your questions: 1. We see our students once a week for 50 minutes. We see one or two classes from each grade level a day. 2. The number of posters vary. We just use the posters as visuals for students. Probably the most important posters are the rules and expectations, skill cues posters, and standards. 3. We spend the first week going over the rules and review them again after winter holiday. Rules should be simple for elementary students to understand. You can spend about a minute or so explaining and giving examples. 4. You can find out about our music and the link below: https://www.thepespecialist.com/music/

Hope this helps!

August 22, 2023 at 5:04 pm

Hey Guys, its my first year HELP!!!

August 23, 2023 at 4:20 pm

Hey Elijah,

Thanks for reaching out! You got this!

Check out our podcast episode: Advice for First Year Teachers

Also if you’re interest, you should check out our membership community. You can find passionate teachers who can also help you navigate your first year!

All the info can be found at the link below:

https://www.thepespecialist.com/info/

August 9, 2023 at 8:28 am

This has been a huge help to me being a first year PE teacher and AD

August 9, 2023 at 6:58 pm

Awesome Brent!

Glad you’re enjoying the resources!

June 7, 2023 at 10:39 am

Great content. First timer here. I will be teaching middle school 6-8 next school year. Would you say almost all of this is appropriate for that 6-8 band as well? Just curious on your opinion on what you’d modify/take out for those age levels. Thanks

Respectfully,

June 7, 2023 at 9:41 pm

Thanks for reaching out! Glad you’re enjoying the resources!

Our content is geared for K-5th but we have middle school teachers who use the resources as well. They just increase the difficulty and rigor for their age groups.

We would modify the games and activities and maybe take out the locomotor movements since those are geared for primary students.

October 8, 2021 at 3:29 pm

So as with most other teachers, we spend time introducing or reviewing PE guidelines and procedures. I try to make it a little interactive instead of just sitting and listening. I also love to utilize the Physical Literacy video you shared above. The students seem to “get it” after watching that video. Thanks for sharing it.

October 11, 2021 at 3:42 pm

Glad you’re enjoying the resources Traci!

Tough to balance establishing rules and setting expectations. Students want to move and play but we need to structure it so it doesn’t spark chaos!

Thanks for sharing!

August 11, 2021 at 11:58 am

Dear P.E. Specialist! I LOVE your lessons. You helped me all last year through COVID and you are my definitely my GO TO this year. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

August 11, 2021 at 4:32 pm

You’re welcome Louise!

Glad you’re enjoying the resources! Good luck this year! Stay safe!

August 10, 2021 at 8:15 pm

Ben can’t seem to access your stuff. Can you reset my password?

We will email you password reset information!

August 10, 2021 at 12:05 am

I’m interested in buying the membership. But I have a few questions about it. 1. Are all the resources based on Shape America standards? If they are, do they cover all Shape America standards? If not, what standards are you using? 2. What grade levels of resources do you offer? Do you have resources for individual grade level? I’m new to PE so if there are grade level resources, it will be really helpful for me to understand how the same contents/similar standards different in each grade.

August 10, 2021 at 4:08 pm

Great questions! Thanks for reaching out!

Our resources are based on Shape America Standards which are aligned with our standards here in South Carolina.

We offer resources for K – 5th grade students

Info about our membership can be found at the link below:

https://www.thepespecialist.com/info

Hope this helps! Let us know if you have any other questions!

July 28, 2021 at 4:29 pm

Ben this has been an excellent PD. I have learned so much and I know it will enhance my teachers, but more importantly, my students’ learning! Thanks!

July 29, 2021 at 2:53 pm

Hey Tricia,

Thanks for the kind words! Glad you’re enjoying the resources!

August 20, 2020 at 10:02 am

Hey Ben just wondering what measures your district is taking and what PE will look like at your school ? As of now, if we begin hybrid or an attempt at all in, the gym is being used as a classroom so we will be outside with 12’ social distancing (not sure what that will look like) or pushed into classrooms with little movement allowed which will not be good. Just looking forward to seeing what kind of curriculum to come up with and see what your doing during all this. Thanks man appreciate all you do.

August 20, 2020 at 3:04 pm

Hey Michael,

Social distancing guidelines and what PE will look like is going to be different from school to school, district to district and state to state, but below are a few ideas to get you started.

Take it day by day until you find out more specifically what the situation will look like at your school and be ready to respond to whatever situation arises and do what’s best for kids.

Be flexible and realize that the guidelines/requirements will most likely change week by week as we go back to start and figure things out – check out this video for my take: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDO66jpBkRh/

Once I get some kids in the building, understand what our numbers of attendance will be and get a feel for what it’s going to actually look like I will let you guys know what I’m doing.

Some no equipment resources and ideas the top of my head (you could also do many of these in a classroom):

Teach some Line Dances or Have a Dance Unit Line Dancing Resource E-Book: Link to the E-book on TPT Teach different exercises and show students how to do circuit training based on their goals Exercise Posters and One Page Workouts: https://www.thepespecialist.com/exerciseposters/ Here’s my Daily Warmup Routine: https://www.thepespecialist.com/dailywarmup/ Modified for social distancing Fitness Testing / Self Assessment: https://www.thepespecialist.com/fitnessgram/ Do a “Social Distanced Olympics” (Idea Here from my friend Coach Pat) Integrate some Health Concepts to fill in the gaps: https://www.thepespecialist.com/health/ If you are allowed to use equipment, but need to stay socially distanced:

Teach a soccer unit and modify to have everyone spaced out Jump Rope Unit (modify to be more individual focus and allow social distancing) https://www.thepespecialist.com/jumprope/ Gymnastics Unit (modify to allow social distancing and be more individual focus) https://www.thepespecialist.com/gymnastics/ Paddle Skills or Tennis Unit Teach students how to juggle (never made time for this before, but might try it out this year) Play Noodle Dance Tag with a 6 ft Noodle: https://www.thepespecialist.com/noodletag/

August 31, 2019 at 9:17 pm

What would be a fun and appropriate ice breaker game for kindergarten and first graders!? I’d love to hear your opinion!

September 2, 2019 at 1:13 pm

Adventure Bingo – it’s linked up in the post above

August 29, 2019 at 2:19 pm

lesson plan will not down load says having trouble with receipt

It’s working on our end, just tested it out.

Usually, this issue is related to a school filter, pop-up blocker, or browser caching issue – so we’d recommend trying from another computer, switching browsers, clearing your cache and making sure all pop up blockers have been turned off.

As a another option you can also find some of our products on our Teachers Pay Teachers Page Here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Pe-Specialist

August 25, 2019 at 5:44 am

Professor Ben, Thanks for the email in regards to the first week of school. All is well and much is appreciated Sir. You are awesome and may God bless you and your family.

August 26, 2019 at 3:43 pm

Thanks Randy!

Not a professor, I teach P.E. at an elementary school

August 13, 2019 at 5:13 pm

Hello, Thank you for your awesome ideas. It really shows that you are passionate about what you do. Please continue doing what you are doing.

August 17, 2019 at 3:12 pm

Appreciate that! Glad it’s helpful

August 6, 2019 at 5:44 pm

Thank you…Period!!!

October 11, 2018 at 3:02 am

Hi the PE specialist, would you come to Riau Province please!!! I have so many problem here..

October 17, 2018 at 5:32 pm

🙂 not sure if I could fix any of your problems, but I’d love to check out Indonesia one day!

September 7, 2018 at 3:37 pm

Love your stuff but the self assessments won’t open. Can you email them to me.

September 17, 2018 at 5:23 pm

Sorry about the issue

Usually, this issue is related to a school filter, pop-up blocker, or browser issue – so we’d recommend trying from another computer, switching browsers and making sure all pop up blockers have been turned off.

As a last resort you can also find some of our free download on our Teachers Pay Teachers Page Here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Pe-Specialist

September 3, 2018 at 2:28 pm

Thank you so much for this in depth post. I am teaching Primary Physical Education and have been in search of some suggestions on how to have a fun first class that isn’t all about rules… your website is SO helpful! All the best!

September 6, 2018 at 8:40 pm

Glad you can use some of the info!

August 11, 2018 at 10:02 am

I just want to say how grateful I am to you. You have helped me more than you will ever know.

August 13, 2018 at 4:44 pm

🙂 Thanks Amy! So pumped to hear that

August 10, 2018 at 7:01 am

Great lesson and presentation. I see on slide three that you have your students find their number and letter for their home base spots. How do you share with your students their assigned spot? Do you tell it to them as they come in, a sheet posted for them to see or do you have an activity where they find out?

Would love to know as I plan to do the same to make it a smooth transition in helping the kids find their home base spot on the first day.

Thanks, Nick

August 10, 2018 at 2:06 pm

Yep – I just tell them the letter and number on the first day after a quick intro.

August 9, 2018 at 7:51 pm

Do you always have the kinders meet in a circle in the middle instead of the home base spots? Or is that just for the beginning of the year.

August 10, 2018 at 2:05 pm

Yep, my Kinder classes are 25 minutes so we don’t do assigned spots with them. Everyone else is 50 min, so we do Home Base Spots with 1st – 5th.

July 30, 2018 at 10:23 am

Hi, Ben! First of all, I am so thankful for your website and resources. I’m moving to the gym from the classroom this year and would be lost without your blog! I’m wondering, do you have any resources about how to work with Kindergarteners the first few weeks of school? I have no idea where to start with planning for the kindergarten period of my days. I know everything will be so new and overwhelming – for them and for me! Could you point me to any resources on how to prepare for Kinder specifically? Thank you!

July 31, 2018 at 4:22 pm

I normally focus on stations with K-1. (I’ll do a lesson for a brand new skill sometimes like Jumprope or Hula Hoop – but for the majority of the time we do station work, or “centers” as the Kinder students call them)

Sometimes we’ll warmup with a fun follow along dance to practice locomotors like the Call it Macaroni Dance or The Chicken Dance

I’ve found it really helpful especially with my K students to do mostly station work and I think it’s beneficial for them because they end up getting more practice time and enjoying class more as well. I switch out the station activities according to the unit that my older students are working on. (Here are some tips for teaching with stations)

I mix in stations and super simple modified games and activity challenges with 1st-2nd.

But some of my 1st grade classes I’ll just do stations with bc they can’t handle as much formal instruction, it just depends on the group.

K used to be a class I dreaded each day, but since I switched to station work, it’s one of my favorites. It takes the expectations off the kids and allows them to have more time to build skill and explore different subjects.

I normally just modify the skills we’re working on with 2-5 and put them in station format for the K-1 kids.

eg.) 3-5 is doing Striking with hands (4-square)

K does 4 striking + catching with hands stations (strike a balloon, strike a playground ball, strike a gatorskin ball, strike a noodle)

Also – I start EVERY SINGLE DAY with a quick rules review

Hope that helps!

June 21, 2018 at 2:02 pm

This is awesome! I am a classroom teacher turned P.E. teacher for the first time this year! Your first day/week schedule is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for all the awesome ideas!

June 26, 2018 at 10:12 am

Cool! Glad you found it and good luck with your first year of P.E.

January 18, 2018 at 1:24 pm

GREAT ideas Ben! I really appreciate all the freebies and ideas to help me get going. This is my first year teaching, so I’m on the prowl for good ideas for games, activities, posters, etc.

One thing I did with my students this year that they absolutely loved is at the end of all the rules and home base stuff, we played a game called Snake, Fire, in the Hole. How it works is I line up all the students on one sideline of the gym (if your gym doesn’t have a basketball court lines, just pick one of the two sides that would be a sideline, must be one of the longer sides though so students can spread out). Whatever line they start at, is the “Fire” line. Aytime I say the word “fire”, the students have to either stay at that line, or go back to that line. The line across the gym is the “Snake” line. Same rules apply to that line. And finally, the three circles in the middle of the gym are called “In the Hole” (the two that make up the elbow of the basketball lanes on either side, and the mid-court circle. You may have to use floor tape if you don’t have the circles, just make them big enough to fit all your students). At first, I’ll do a little warmup round to get the kids used to the commands. After a few times through, I’ll try to start tricking them. For example, if they’re on the snake line, “I’ll say the word “steak” and see who moves. If they cross the line and they weren’t supposed to, they’re out. If they’re out, I tell them to go to the baseline side of the basketball court (I pick one side for them to go) and have them do 1 of 5 different exercises of their choice until the round is over, or I tell them to come back in. I usually don’t make them sit out for longer than 2-3 min so they don’t get bored). As the game goes on and the number of students in the game gets smaller, I will start to limit the # of people that can be in “the hole” at a time, or tell them, say, the first 10 people in the hole are in and the rest are out. You can modify the rules and have fun w/trying to trick the students (they liked that part the best tbh), but this is a great game to get the students used to listening to instructions and see right away who those students are.

January 22, 2018 at 7:51 pm

Hey Sam! I’ve seen the kids in my afterschool program playing a game called “Lions, Tigers and Bears” with basically the same idea – they really like it. Glad you have an additional activity for the kiddos to do once they’re eliminated as well. Thanks for sharing and glad the blog is helpful. Good luck with the First year

January 23, 2018 at 9:20 pm

Oh cool! I’ve never heard of that version of the game but glad they’re playing a similar version. I know the students at my school love it so I’m sure they do too. I appreciate all the advice and help and look forward to continuing to learn a ton from the site!

December 7, 2017 at 7:55 am

Thank you for the great information

December 11, 2017 at 3:39 pm

Glad it was helpful!

September 2, 2017 at 10:23 pm

Your website is excellent. It is always good to see other Physical Education and Health teachers setting the bar high. My question for you is how do you incorporate health topics during the year at the elementary level? Do you just include different health topics within the lessons or are there separate times during the course of the year to cover topics?

September 4, 2017 at 8:37 pm

The classroom teachers at my school cover health, so normally – yes, I incorportate different topics throughout the year that relate to activities that we’re doing. But I don’t do a lot of book work.

Here’s the closest thing I’ve ever done to a “health unit”

https://www.thepespecialist.com/health/

August 23, 2017 at 11:17 am

Hey, Can you tell me what you do with just Kinder on the first day…..other than rules and intro? I usually do basic relays, but that can be tough on day one. If you do relays, what tips and organizational strategies do you use? I am looking for something a little more smooth and organize for the first few weeks of K.

August 23, 2017 at 8:43 pm

Day 1 with K, we do the basic rules – learn to Walk/Jog for warmup – stopping signal. I read them the book “Gym Teacher from the Black Lagoon” and then if there’s any time left we practice locomotors around the room and learn about open space.

After getting rules/procedures down during the first couple weeks I’d say I do stations with K students about 80% of the time.

September 5, 2017 at 12:19 am

Hi! Can you please share the K stations?

September 5, 2017 at 8:29 pm

It just depends on the content I’m doing with the older students – I just break it down to the basics and do stations with my K-1st students so they will develop the skills needed in the older grades, you can see a few examples at the link below from my frisbee unit:

https://www.thepespecialist.com/frisbeestations/

Other examples: – Hula Hoop – Jump Rope – Scooters – Throw and Catch (football, gator ball, bean bag, foam tennis ball) – Spooner boards – Basketball dribble – Wall Bounce and catch with playground ball

August 14, 2017 at 9:41 pm

Your website and passion for PE is inspiring Ben! I am will be starting my 27th year of teaching elementary PE and happy to say I really love what I do!

What are your thoughts on some ideas for SLO’s? Last year we had our 4th graders demonstrate their understanding of the components of fitness through a pre and post test of examples. We used pictures of The Incredibles and labeled them Mr. Muscle, Miss Flexibility and Kid Cardio. Throughout the year we referenced activities according to the characters. It was amazing how even my kinders would shout out, “that is a Mr. Muscle activity Mrs. Simone!”

August 11, 2017 at 12:01 am

Hey Ben, are your bathrooms within eye sight of your playing area? I’m nervous to let my kids have free access to them without being able to keep an eye on them (mine are around a corner). Thoughts? Hopefully they wouldn’t want to stay in there, but we all know how kids are.

August 14, 2017 at 4:05 pm

Yep – they actually retrofitted us a single bathroom and water fountain in our gym about 5 years ago – it’s way better, but I know how it was letting kids go down the hall. I would just do whatever your school policies and the regular practice of the other teachers at your school are doing.

You can always give them a physical pass so that only 1 is gone at a time as well.

August 8, 2017 at 1:30 pm

7th year teacher here! Good job on the website with a lot of great ideas! My lesson back to school is very similar and structured. Keep up the great work and have an awesome school year!

August 5, 2017 at 4:56 pm

Thanks for everything you do, I’ve used several of your lesson plans and resources and they have benefited my students greatly. I am wondering, are you willing to share a bigger image of your two rules posters and the bathroom poster? I’d like to print those on an 8×11.5 for my gym.

Thank you, Mr. Chasteen

August 14, 2017 at 3:55 pm

You can check them out and download them in the “Management Pro Pack” here: http://thepespecialist.com/hacks

August 1, 2017 at 7:22 pm

Hey this is awesome.. ur website is amazing. You have amazing ideas so I have a question for ya! We have a classes from 30-60! They have 5 mins to get dressed for a 45 mins class. Well the guys get in and out in a min and the girls take forever. We stretch first in our stretching lines so the guys are just sitting there and a couple of girls. Any activity we could do with the ones that are always waiting and so eager to play?

August 14, 2017 at 3:54 pm

I would just choose something that your kids resonate with so it’s a motivator for them to dress out quickly. The quicker they get out the more game time they can have.

Maybe 4-square, Knockout, jumpropes… just depends one what your kids are into and can do independently

August 1, 2017 at 5:43 pm

I love the idea of Home Base spots! Do you assign them as they walk in on the first day? How much time does that take? Do you keep a chart of who goes where?

August 14, 2017 at 3:53 pm

Yep, we get them on the first day with 1st – 5th. (I just have my Kinder kids sit in the middle circle). It takes about 2-3 minutes usually, even less with the older kids.

Actually just wrote a blog about this, you can check it out here: https://www.thepespecialist.com/homebasespots/

July 18, 2017 at 5:01 am

I’ll be a going into my first year of teaching PE for 1st-6h graders and wanted to know how you would spread out each lessons for 40 mins each? For example, introduction and rules and polices/expectations etc. Would love any type of feedback.

July 19, 2017 at 11:19 am

I have 50 minute classes, so pretty similar to you. My structure for 2nd – 5th is normally: – Instant Activity + Warmup/Stretch = 5-10 minutes depending on the activity – Get into the lesson introducing new concepts, skill practice with progressions getting more difficult as we go along – 10 minutes – Modified Gameplay – 25-30 minutes – Closure – 5 minutes

Of course that changes depending on what we’re doing, at the beginning of a unit I spend more time developing and practicing skills – towards the end we spend more time playing games.

With K-1: it’s a similar start, but instead of gameplay we work in stations practicing different skills

July 14, 2017 at 9:11 am

This is great! Thanks for posting your ideas!

June 2, 2017 at 10:07 am

On the first day I’ve tried to make learning the rules and expectations an active process. Some years I have put signs around the room with a rule or expectation followed by an activity to perform as they learn the rule. Other years I have written the rules/expectations along with an activity on balloons and scattered them around. After allowing time for the students to get around to all of them I bring them together to discuss the rules/expectations, and consequences. Remaining time is spent with a quick easy tag game. I like what you are doing, thanks for sharing.

June 5, 2017 at 4:27 pm

Good stuff David – thanks for sharing your ideas

January 4, 2017 at 11:47 am

I used your power point today to start my second semester!! Of course with some changes. But I didn’t really read the Emergency Drill page…. There are no hurricanes in Missouri. Oops! My 8th graders thought it was pretty funny. I am so glad I did this though. I have done the same thing for years and it was always boring, for me!! I feel so good about my day.

January 4, 2017 at 1:38 pm

That’s awesome! Really glad it worked for you – Always nice to try something new!

October 25, 2016 at 12:27 am

I’m so glad I found your blog:) I’m on my 15th year of teaching, but I love all these new ideas. I haven’t had a gym all year because the floor is being replaced. I’m supposed to get back in next week and I need to start all new again with procedures and management. This would be the perfect time to start new. What teacher evaluation system do you have?

October 26, 2016 at 7:07 pm

Hey Stephanie – Glad the blog has been helpful. In SC, we are under ADEPT, we go through an SLO process every year and do recertification every 5 years.

October 26, 2016 at 7:17 pm

Thank you. The school has started a new evaluation system (Danielson). I just didn’t know if there many others out there using it.

August 25, 2016 at 6:36 am

I really like your home base idea but was wondering if the numbers and letters are already on the floor or walls?? Thanks for clarifying

January 27, 2017 at 5:01 pm

Yep, it’s like an excel spreadsheet. Numbers (1-5) on one wall and Letters (A-F) on the other wall, so I can accomodate up to 30 students.

We have another set of numbers on the other side of the gym as well for double classes.

August 18, 2016 at 12:29 pm

Great Advice for the first week…awesome

August 12, 2016 at 9:27 am

Question on Home Base spots….what if 5 students are not present that day? That would throw everything off…especially making groups/teams for the day’s activities…what do you do in this situation? Generally I put my students are different colored teams each class to not only deal with this problem, but to give them an opportunity to play/work with a different set of students each class…instead of the same team each week…thoughts?

August 17, 2016 at 3:39 pm

I normally group teams myself or use an app called Team Shake – super cool app, Google it for some tutorials.

I use home base spots as a way to check my attendance, or get warmed up or stretched out quickly.

August 29, 2015 at 1:33 am

Great lesson. My first lesson has very similar content. I use Power Point presentation to illustrate my information. After the presentation, For reviewing the safety rules I integrate introduction to orienteering. I created 20 stations around the gym, each with a number and different safety rule. Each pair of partners got a gym map and specified route to follow. They have to travel to each post of their route choosing different locomotor movement. After reading a rule, they have to discuss it. If they think something needs to be added, they leave their comment on sticky note. They also place a sticky note with a new word to be added to our word wall.

August 29, 2015 at 2:14 pm

Thanks for sharing. That’s a very cool idea, I’ve never ventured into orienteering, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Sticky note comments is a good one too.

August 25, 2015 at 5:58 pm

My 1st day is very similar! We use an activity called People to People for discussing summer activities and meeting new classmates. Here is a link that demonstrates the basics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuJE9Uhqgno Of course, I make it age appropriate. When they meet a new partner we start with- name to name, and a discussion question, i.e. What did you do this summer. We also use different locomotor skills when searching for a new partner. We build up to bigger groups as well.

Thanks for the post!

August 25, 2015 at 6:40 pm

That’s awesome – great game idea. Thanks for the comment.

August 18, 2015 at 2:46 pm

Thanks Ben for the ideas!

August 13, 2015 at 2:51 am

Great break down of a first day lesson and thank you for the physical literacy video as a resource! Have a great school year!

August 13, 2015 at 3:58 pm

Thanks, there are 2 other videos in the series as well – worth checking out. Have a good one.

July 18, 2017 at 8:39 pm

Hi Ben, I love the video. I was wondering do you show these videos to all grades K-5? And do you fit in the other two videos sometime later in the year?

July 19, 2017 at 11:22 am

In the past I showed it to K-5, but since then I only showed it to K-2 because the 3rd-5th graders remembered it and didn’t really want to watch it again.

I showed the other videos to my 3-5 classes one a week the following weeks.

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Gym Games for Kindergarten

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Gym games for kindergarten physical education (PE) classes should mix fun with basic motor skills. The Society of Health and Physical Educators , or SHAPE America, has set national P.E. standards for each grade level to help you identify which skills need to be included in your gym games for kindergarten.

Indoor Gym Games for Kindergarten

Indoor PE games for five- and-six-year-olds typically require a large open space like a gymnasium and standard kids' gym equipment such as bean bags, hula hoops, a variety of balls, cones, and music.

• 24 Fun & Inclusive PE Games High Schoolers Love
• 24 Fall Games & Activities for Kids That Are Perfect for Outdoor Fun

Bean Bag Hoopscotch

Gym games that use bean bags are great for this age group because if a child accidentally gets hit with a bean bag, it won't hurt much. This simple game is played like Hopscotch and focuses on the skills of hopping and maintaining momentary stillness in various positions.

• Set up a station with four bean bags and four hula hoops in a circular pattern, each with a position written on a piece of paper placed in them like one-leg stand, squat, downward dog, and crab.
• Set up a separate station that has one bean bag and is a Hopscotch course, or Hoopscotch course, using hula hoops that is at least 7-10 hoops long.
• On a turn, a student goes to the position station and tosses each bean bag until it lands inside a hoop. The order of the positions they land on is the order they use for the Hoopscotch course.
• The student then goes to the Hoopscotch course and tosses the bean bag. The hoop it lands in is how far they have to go.
• The student hops into the first hoop, lands, then strikes their first position and holds it for a count of five.
• The child continues hopping to hoops and holding positions until they reach the bean bag hoop.
• You can set up three of these stations and have kids race against each other or keep track of who goes the farthest correctly in the Hoopscotch course.

Drop, Catch, Throw Tag

The gym teacher and kids will work together to try keeping everyone in this unique game of tag rather than trying to get others out. Kids will practice dropping a ball, catching it before it bounces twice, and throwing it.

• To start, kids should run around the gym like they would in a game of tag while the teacher holds the ball.
• When the teacher yells out "tag," all kids stop and look at her.
• The teacher throws the ball to a student who must drop the ball and catch it before it bounces twice.
• The player throws the ball back to the teacher and the game continues until everyone has had a turn.
• Any child who does not catch or throw the ball properly is out of the game.

Musical Basketball Dribble

Kids will learn to dribble a basketball with one hand in this basketball activity for kids that resembles Musical Chairs. You'll need a basketball for each student and something to play music on.

• Have kids spread out around the gym so they have at least two arm lengths of space between them.
• Start the music and have kids start dribbling.
• When you stop the music, kids must immediately stop dribbling and sit on their ball where they stand.
• If a child has lost control of the ball when the music stops, they can't chase it down.
• Any child who can't/doesn't sit on their ball when the music stops is out.
• The last child left in the game is the winner.

Balloon Name Drop

Students will learn each other's names and how to volley a lightweight object upward in this easy game. You'll need one balloon to play.

• The teacher starts with the ball in the center of the gym while the kids run around him in a clockwise motion.
• The teacher demonstrates how to volley the balloon upward as high as he can while calling out the name of one student.
• That student runs to the center and catches the balloon before it hits the ground.
• The student then repeats the teacher's actions.
• Game play continues until the balloon hits the ground, then it starts over with the teacher in the center.
• As a class, see if you can get each person to volley the balloon once without it ever touching the ground.

Outdoor Gym Games for Kindergarten

Games for children to play outdoors in kindergarten feature large physical movements and throwing or kicking balls because the open space makes them safer games . Look for ways to utilize your natural surroundings or stationary outdoor equipment in gym games.

Over the Line Relay Race

Kindergartners learn how to throw overhand with their opposite foot forward in this simple relay race . You'll need a small ball for each teams, a starting line, a finish line, and five long ropes or a set of five jump ropes for each team. Set the lines and ropes horizontally in line with about ten feet between each rope. Split the class into teams of four.

• The first player on each team starts at the starting line, runs to Line 1 and throws the ball overhand to Player 2 (who is on Line 2) with their opposite foot forward and over Line 1.
• Player 2 runs to Line 3, then throws the ball overhand to Player 3 (who is on Line 4) with their opposite foot forward over Line 3.
• Player 3 runs to Line 5, throws the ball overhand to Player 4 (who is at the finish line) with their opposite foot forward over Line 5.
• Player 4 catches the ball and crosses the finish line.
• Any team member who does not throw the ball properly and within a foot of their next teammate, has to go back to where they started and try again.

Backwards Kickball

Make a standard game of kickball more fun when you play in reverse. Kids learn to kick a stationary ball with the inside of their foot in this wacky game. Set up a standard kickball field with home base, first base, second base, third base, and a pitcher's mound. Split the kids into two equal teams.

• The pitcher is actually the kicker in this game.
• The pitcher sets the ball down and kicks it toward home plate then runs to third base.
• Kids on the kicking team wait behind home plate as they normally would, but step up to the pitcher's mound on their turn to kick.
• Play with all the same rules as kickball only runners go from third base, to second base, to third base, then home to score a run.

Capture the Jump Rope

Set up a simple game of Capture the Flag where each team has a jump rope to protect rather than a flag. This game works best when you have several smaller teams and helps kids learn to jump rope. Each team tries to steal the jump ropes from all the other teams while keeping their own jump rope safe. Each team's jump rope should be within easy reach of others and not held by a team member. If a child steals another team's jump rope, they jump rope back to their "base" where their team's rope is being kept and jump rope using the opponent's rope for the remainder of the game at the base. The team who captures the most other jump ropes while keeping their own safe wins.

Kindergarten Gym Games With No Equipment

When you've got a limited budget or don't want to drag out a bunch of gym equipment, gym games for kindergarteners that don't use any equipment come in handy. These games can be played indoors or outdoors and make it easy for you to utilize your entire gym period without wasting time setting up or getting out supplies.

Red Rover Roll Over

Kids practice the gym standard of rolling sideways in narrow body positions in this take on the classic playground game Red Rover.

• Separate the group into two teams and have them stand in horizontal lines facing each other with about ten feet between them.
• On a turn one team calls out "Red Rover let (insert student name from opposite team) roll over."
• The student they name has to roll sideways from their position until they can reach out and touch one member of the opposite team.
• While the player is rolling, the team who called her counts down from 20 to 0.
• If the player touches an opposing team member before the count of zero, they join that team.
• The team with the most players at the end wins.

Simon Says Secret Dance Tag

Using locomotor skills in response to creative dancing led by the teacher can be a tough standard to incorporate. This fun mash-up of Simon Says and Tag will get the whole class grooving.

• Choose about 10 different dance moves to use in the game.
• Pick one student to be "It" and whisper one of these dance moves to them.
• Play a game of Simon Says using these dance moves as your directives.
• When you say "Simon says" to do the secret dance move you whispered to "It," they get to start trying to tag other kids until you state the next Simon directive.
• Any kids who get tagged also become "It" and you tell them all in secret what the next secret dance move is.

Follow the Pattern

Get ready for wild and crazy kids in this energetic game that incorporates balance activities with moving in patterns. Kids run around the space like they would for tag as the teacher calls out directives every few minutes. Each directive should include what type of movement to use and what pattern to use it in. For example, you might say "Hopping zig-zag!" and kids would have to hop in a zig-zag pattern around the room. If a child does the wrong movement or the wrong pattern, he is out. The last child in the game is the winner. Other actions and patterns to use include:

• Jumping and landing on two feet
• Jumping and landing on one foot
• Hopping on one foot
• Circle pattern
• Straight line forward
• Straight line backward

Get Kids Active in Gym

While gym class is meant to be fun and a place where kids can let off some of their energy, they are also supposed to be learning and practicing important skills to maintain physical health. Kindergarten physical education games and movement games can include competitive and non-competitive activities that feature a variety of physical skills and get kids excited about physical activity.

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

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Best P.E. Apps and Online Resources to Keep Your Students Moving

Let’s get physical.

Research proves that exercise improves children’s focus and energy levels , and the CDC recommends that children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 years do 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. With so many PE apps, videos, and online resources available, it’s easier than ever to incorporate P.E. into your daily learning plan. This list will have you and your students sweating in no time!

PE Streaming and Online Videos

Dancing is one of the easiest ways to get your body moving … and grooving. As kids follow the moves on this YouTube-based dance challenge, they won’t even realize they’re getting in a great cardio workout. Plus Just Dance features all their fave musical artists.

Cosmic Kids Yoga

Stretch, bend and get movin’ with the Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube channel, where you’ll find 10-20 minute guided yoga workouts for preschool to elementary school-aged kids. Kids will love striking poses in outer space, underwater, on the farm, and more! You can also stream episodes on Amazon Prime Video .

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The Body Coach

The Body Coach is a popular YouTube channel that features free, easy-to-follow, at-home workouts for everyone, including kids. Get fit no matter your fitness level with these active, engaging 5-8 minute videos.

The Kids Coach

A place for fitness, workouts, and wellness … just for kids. Need a simple way to get your kids moving? Simply choose the age category, press play, and stream to any device. Find over 100 sessions categorized by age group.

Coach Josh Kids Fitness

Preschoolers can practice balance and coordination while also practicing everything from colors to numbers to the ABCs in Coach Josh’s fun workout show, streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

Kids’ HIIT Workout

This 30-minute-long exercise YouTube video is the perfect excuse to get moving along with your kids. HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a workout that combines intense bursts of exercise and short, active recovery periods. Think marching, jumping jacks, and squats. No equipment needed! Just put on a pair of athletic shoes and press play.

Simply Soccer: Soccer Drills You Can Do Indoors

Simply soccer’s seven-minute YouTube video shows you how to work on some fancy footwork skills from the comfort of home.

Karate for Kids

Who wants to be a ninja? Join Abbey Manser on her YouTube channel to learn basic karate skills for kids.

Kidz Bop Dance Along

Dance to the beat of rated-G versions of popular songs like Thank U, Next , Señorita, and Old Town Road .

Tumbletots at Home

Tiny tots up to 7 years old will enjoy guided movement classes with a focus on play with UK-based Tumbletots at Home . Weekly, 25-minute exercise sessions can be easily accessed on three platforms: Facebook , IGTV , and YouTube .

Dad and fitness trainer Joe Wicks hosts 30-minute PE workouts for kids on Body Coach TV YouTube channel . Wicks encourages parents to join in on the fitness fun, so throw on your workout gear and get ready to work out alongside your kids, moms and dads!

Get fit with a little monkey business! Moovlee is an animated monkey that leads 4-10 minutes workout videos for kids ages 3-5. With a focus on meditation, yoga, and cardio, Moovlee will get your kids moving.

5 a Day Fitness

Sometimes five minutes of moving and shaking are all it takes to energize and refocus. 5 a Day Fitness ’ high-energy, low-impact, fun fitness videos make it easy to squeeze a workout or two or three into busy days. Check out their French and Spanish language fitness videos for kids to practice language skills and get your heart pumping.

Daniella Ballerina

Dance along with Daniella! Her online dance studio introduces little ones to the world of ballet through classes centered on classic poses like Arabesque and Pas de Chat .

JamTimeDanceTV

Tweens and tweens won’t even realize they’re working out as they dance to the beat of JamTimeDanceTV’s hip hop tutorials. Moonwalk, step touch, and glide to classic hip hop tracks.

Nike Training Club

This app features free 15-, 30-, and 45-minute workouts designed by expert Nike trainers and will be a great fit for the sport-playing middle or high schooler looking to keep in tip-top shape at home.

I Am Love: Kids’ Yogaverse

As your kids strike each of the thirteen yoga poses and breathing techniques featured in this yoga-focused app, they’ll gain flexibility and strength. They’ll also be more centered and calm thanks to soothing music.

GoNoodle Kids

Teachers love to use the Go Noodle Kids app to get kids moving in the classroom. Interactive videos combine movement with mindfulness, helping kids center themselves for learning. The modules are short, making GoNoodle ideal for kids that need a quick energy boost through exercise.

Sworkit Kids App

Sworkit Kids fitness app

The Sworkit Kids app makes it easy to create and tailor workouts that fit your kid’s age, ability, and fitness level. Kids can count on building strength and agility as they’re guided by the app through an interval-style workout that mixes targeted exercises with fun challenges, making exercise feel more like a game than a must-do.

7-Minute Workout for Kids App

Research suggests that high-intensity interval training can provide many of the same benefits as longer workouts minus the time commitment. These seven-minute workouts are easy fitness fits for busy days.

Wuf Shanti Yoga Fun Machine

Wuf Shanti is a lovable dog that teaches kids yoga poses with songs, videos along with a heavy dose of words of encouragement. Wuff’s motivational motto, “Think well to be well,” fits this app’s focus on positive thinking.

Online PE Lesson Plans

Gopher sport.

Gopher, the go-to source for P.E. teachers, has gathered useful blog articles and two at-home lesson plan options for any parents looking to add education to their home learning curriculum: SPARKhome features free, wellness-focused K-12 PE lesson plans (3 weeks of materials for K-2, 3-6, middle school and high school). Dynamic PE ASAP has free lesson plans with both in-home and backyard activities that will get kids active STAT.

Carone Learning

For students, Carone Learning offers cFitness Academy, an accredited online school specializing in health and fitness for students.

Sanford fit

Looking for movement ideas for the classroom? Sanford  fit  has hundreds of free resources—like brain breaks , lessons, and videos—to help kids make healthy choices inside and outside of the classroom.

Shape America

Free PE activity ideas, classroom resources, and physical activity calendars are available for download!

Plus, check out 10 ways to encourage fitness and healthy living in tweens and teens .

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The Best Kinder PE Games

Kindergarteners are still developing important life skills. As a PE teacher, you have a unique opportunity to help your students develop gross motor skills and fine motor skills. However, planning a successful PE class can be stressful, especially when you're unsure what to expect. Here's what you need to know about planning kinder PE games.    

Establishing Appropriate Expectations for Kinder Kids 

The average kindergartener is five years old. Kindergarten classes are the first form of official schooling for most children, although some parents may choose to enroll their kids in preschool. A five-year-old child has not yet entered the more mature phases of childhood associated with advanced learning skills and may still struggle to move on from their toddler phase. Most five-year-old children have more self-control than a toddler and have the ability to successfully sit through a lesson from a teacher. However, they are still learning to control their emotions and are prone to emotional outbreaks. Five-year-old children may still cry about spilling their milk on the table or not getting the snack they wanted at lunchtime.  

The physical development of a five-year-old is vastly different from the teetering habits of a toddler. Most toddlers are still learning to walk and run and struggle with fine motor movements. A five-year-old child is learning to perfect their fine motor skills and can run and jump with better coordination. Some five-year-olds will begin losing their chubby cheeks and gain more muscle than fat. On this note, it's important to remember that all children grow and develop at different stages. Just because the average five-year-old child will begin losing their chubby cheeks doesn't mean that every child will develop at the same time. If your child seems to be behind the other children, do not remark on their developmental stage. Mentioning the child's differences can make the child develop deep-seated insecurities.  

Keeping in mind that each child is different and that you should regularly check with your local health provider to ensure that your child is healthy, here are typical health and growth milestones for kindergarteners: 

• Gaining four to five pounds 
• Growing two to three inches 
• Achieving 20/20 vision 

Additionally, most kindergarteners will achieve certain physical milestones that define locomotor skill. Mainly, kindergarteners will develop gross motor skills and fine motor skills. The typical milestones for five-year-old children are: 

• Gain better coordination in hopping, skipping, running, and jumping 
• Develop better balance 
• Gain ability to handle buttons and zippers 
• Gain ability to handle forks, knives, and spoons 
• Less dependent on parents   
• Stands on one foot for ten seconds 

The emotional development in a five-year-old child is also significant, though it might not be as obvious as the motor skills. Many five-year-old children are people pleasers and have a desire to be liked by the people around them. They are more likely to listen to their parents and complete tasks in exchange for praise and recognition. However, they are also still young children and are prone to extreme emotional outbursts. Tantrums are common in kindergarteners, and teachers should be ready to deal with emotional outbursts. Young children also learn to articulate themselves and their feelings (though this can sometimes be contradictory). Five-year-olds will also feel empathy for the people around them and might feel sad when they see someone else feeling sad. The common key emotional milestones are: 

• Separate from primary caregiver without feeling extreme anxiety 
• Play and share with other children 
• Attend to an adult-directed task for at least five minutes 
• Feel empathy for those around them 

Kinder kids will begin making social milestones. Five-year-old kids will begin initiating relationships with other children and make new friends. They will form relationships with those who are outside the immediate familial relationships. They will begin having independent relationships. However, some kids this age may begin bullying if the parents don't introduce bullying prevention. Additionally, kids who are being bullied will not know how to respond, meaning that parents should take an active role in their child's social life to ensure that they aren't being bullied by any of the other students. Teachers should also watch for signs of bullying in their classrooms and call out bullying before it becomes an issue in their classroom. The important social milestones are: 

• Desire to please family and friends 
• Desire to follow rules
• Desire to fit in with their friends 

Five-year-olds will begin making cognitive progress and learn the difference between "right" and "wrong." Although their understanding of right and wrong will not fully define until they are around eight years old, parents can expect their kindergarteners to know basic morality principles. They will expand their language and better understand ideas such as "something is on top of the box," compared to "something is next to the box." The most common cognitive milestones are: 

• Ability to count to ten 
• Expanded oral and vocal vocabulary 
• Enjoys singing, dancing, and playing 
• Enjoys playing alone with friends 
• Can tell what's real and what's pretend 

According to the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , parents and teachers should be concerned if their five-year-old is exhibiting unusual behavior. Unusual behavior may be an early determiner for cognitive issues or the need for early professional counseling. Contact your local health provider if you see: 

• Doesn't show a wide range of emotions
• Shows extreme behavior (unusually fearful, aggressive, shy, or sad)
• Unusually withdrawn and not active
• Is easily distracted, has trouble focusing on one activity for more than 5 minutes
• Doesn't respond to people, or responds only superficially
• Can't tell what's real and what's make-believe
• Doesn't play a variety of games and activities
• Can't give first and last name
• Doesn't use plurals or past tense properly
• Doesn't talk about daily activities or experiences
• Doesn't draw pictures
• Can't brush teeth, wash and dry hands, or get undressed without help
• Loses skills they once had

Classroom teachers and physical education teachers should keep these important milestones in mind when creating lessons for their students. If a teacher tries to push their students further than reasonable, it could frustrate the kids and result in emotional outbursts. However, teachers should always push their students to help to develop future milestones.    

Kindergarten PE teachers have a unique ability to help their students form future milestones. The goal of kindergarten PE is to get the kids moving and enjoying themselves while they learn to love PE class. If a PE teacher can teach young kids to love exercise at an early age, the kids will have an easier time later in life. As a PE teacher, you help create the foundation of a healthy future for your students.  

PE teachers should not expect more than their students than the average milestone. If a child excels, be proud of the excelling student; however, do not tell the other children to act like the excelling student. Putting down other children can create insecurities that could follow them throughout the rest of their lives. Instead, PE teachers should focus on encouragement and help to make exercise as fun and entertaining as possible, ensuring that exercise becomes an important part of their lives. 

How to Have a Successful First Week

The first week of class for kindergarten PE teachers can often be the most difficult. Because kindergarteners are the youngest class that takes PE courses, teachers may have trouble navigating the new scene. During the first week, PE teachers should focus less on physical exercise and more on getting to know their students. The first week should include icebreakers,  get-to-know-you games for kindergarteners , and other activities that show your students' personalities and limitations.  

PE teachers should also focus on setting up their expectations for their students. This includes setting up assigned seating, clarifying gym rules, and establishing classroom behavior. For the first week, gym teachers should be very easy going and shouldn't push the rules too hard. Make it clear that you're both a teacher and a friend in order to encourage the students to trust and respect you. For some kindergarteners, kindergarten is their first exposure to a classroom. Studies have shown that 70 percent of four-year-olds attend preschool and 40 percent of three-year-olds attend preschool. This means that 30 percent of kids have no prior school exposure other than their kindergarten class. Because a child's background is not obvious, never assume that the kids should already know how a gym class should work.  

When exercising in the first week, make sure that all the exercises are focused on games that encourage creativity and friendship. Rather than making the five-year-old kids run and jump, focus more on low-impact activities. As the kids arrive at the gym, encourage them to participate in an instant activity like stretching. While stretching, allow the kids to talk to one another. When you call out "Home Base," have all the kids run to their assigned spot. This helps the kids to listen and socialize at the same time.  

Above all, remember that you're working with five-year-old children. Don't expect too much from them, and remember to be extremely patient. There will be many times where the kids don't listen or don't realize what you're asking of them. Work within reasonable expectations and never yell at them for doing something wrong. If you are having trouble with a child, talk to their parents rather than address it with the child. Your responsibility as a kindergarten PE teacher is to help the child love to exercise. If the child is yelled at or scolded in front of peers, it could cause the child to become withdrawn and upset during class, scaring their emotional growth. 

Top Ten Best Games for Kindergarten 

To make class fun and entertaining for young kids, PE teachers should encourage fun and exciting games. To help students get the most out of the experience, try introducing these ten activities to your class. Of course, monitor your students and use your personal discretion to determine which activities are right for your class. Here are ten activities that will make your students love coming to PE class. 

• Funny Running

One of the best games for kindergarten kids is Funny Running. Funny Running is an easy game to play that is similar to Simon Says but requires more exercise. To play, line up the students on one side of the gym and point out a destination (the other side of the gymnasium). Then, give the instruction to run. The first to make it to the other side of the gym wins. However, there's one important twist; they have to run in a specific way. The PE teacher calls out, "Run like a robot!" or "Run like a turtle!" and the kids must immediately change their run to act like that thing. You can also take out the competitive edge to the game so that no one wins when they reach the other side of the gym. Taking out the competitive edge helps the kids focus more on running as you specify rather than being the fastest.   

While playing Funny Running, make sure to point out kids who are doing well in their form. Rather than saying, "Good job!" compliment their form. Say, "Jessica's robot-run looks just like a robot!" Complementing the kids will help them to try harder and enjoy themselves better. They will feel proud of their effort. 

• Simon Says  

Simon Says is a great PE game for when you have limited space. Additionally, not every lesson plan should involve heavy activity. If every PE class exhausts the students, they might not enjoy it as much as you want them to. In order to encourage a balanced physical education, include games that aren't as physically demanding. Simon Says is the perfect game for an off-day that lets the kids rest from running, jumping, and playing since young kids might not understand their bodies' limitations yet.  

Here's  how to play Simon Says : 

"One person is designated Simon, and the others are the players. Standing in front of the group, Simon tells players what they must do. However, the players must only obey commands that begin with the words 'Simon Says.' If Simon says, 'Simon says touch your nose,' then players must touch their nose. But, if Simon simply says, 'jump,' without first saying 'Simon says,' players must not jump. Those that do jump are out." 

Simon Says helps the young kids to learn listening skills and pick up on small verbal cues. It's a great game that combines movement, listening, and intelligence. When one of the kids wins the game, you can keep playing by having them host the next round of Simon Says. 

The game Jump Jump is a combination between Simon Says and Funny Running. The game's goal is to get to the other side of the gymnasium as quickly as possible; however, the steps and movements are limited by the PE teacher. The PE teacher can shout, "One Jump!" and all the kinder kids take one jump towards the opposite wall. If a kid tries to do several jumps when you specified "one," they are out of the game (which helps to keep the young kids honest).  

There's a twist to the game that helps keep the kids from becoming too eager as they cross the gymnasium. If the PE teacher shouts, "Monster!" all the kids have to turn around and run back to the safe wall. If the PE teacher can tag any of the kids, they are out. This twist makes the game slightly more challenging because the kids want to make it to the winning wall, but every step takes them closer to the monster. 

The game called "Monster" has several different names. It is also called Sharks and Minnows, and Zombie Tag. For a kinder PE lesson, the name "Monster" is the most fitting. To play Monster, line up all the kids on one side of the gymnasium. Tell them that the goal is to make it to the opposite side and choose one kid to start as the monster. The monster will stand in the middle of the gym and wait. The PE teacher blows the whistle, and all the kids will run straight towards the monster. As the kids run by, the monster will try to tag as many people as possible (which can be harder than it sounds). After everyone who wasn't tagged makes it to the winning wall, the tagged kids become new monsters, joining the original monster in the middle of the gym. Then, the round starts again. With every round, the line of monsters increases until there are more monsters than kids. When the final person is tagged, the game is over. 

Monster is a fun game for kindergarten kids because it encourages them to run and have fun. It introduces them to the idea of running back and forth across the gym, but they don't realize that they are running. Monster is one of the best games to introduce physical exercise without overdoing it. 

• Simple Sports 

You can entertain young kids by getting out a variety of simple sports . In different areas of the gym, set up a variety of easy sports. Some great sport ideas for young kids are: 

• Hacky Sack. The game hacky sack only needs a few hacky sacks. The kids can practice throwing them back and forth or hitting them on their shoes and try to juggle them like a soccer ball.  
• 9 Square. 9 Square is a variation of four square but allows more kids to participate. The court can be modified to fit the scenario, making it a perfect game for kinder kids.  
• Tag. At the end of the day, tag is a classic game that you can always introduce to your kindergarten class. Most kids already have a concept of how to play tag and will be excited when you mentioned playing tag during class. 
•  Hula Hoop. Young kids love to hula hoop. Hula hoop helps young kids to develop essential motor skills and build muscle memory. It's a great physical activity for kinder PE. 
• Frisbee. Not all kinder-age kids will be able to play frisbee successfully. However, learning how to throw a frisbee at a young age can ensure that kids learn to build muscle memory that will help them later in life.   
• Jump Rope. Jump rope is an active way to get the kids running, jumping, and having fun with each other. 

When teaching how to play sports, your goal should be teaching each child a new skill. Sports in kindergarten shouldn't be competitive or difficult. PE teachers should focus on the needs and abilities of their students. If students are having problems with a game, don't force it. Instead, introduce an easier way to play. 

• Obstacle Course

Obstacle courses are a fun way to get the kids engaged in an activity. An obstacle course is when the kids have to navigate a series of obstacles to get to the other side. Here are some ideas for your obstacle course: 

• Crawl under or over a row of chairs.
• Jump into hula hoops that are set up in a line. 
• Walk on a balance beam. 
• Climb over a large bean bag. 
• Throw a beanbag into a basket. 
• Somersault from one point to another.  

Obstacle courses ensure that kids have fun and use their imagination. Obstacle courses are fun because you can repeat them several times and have them walk through the course in different ways. For example, you could tell them, "Run through the obstacle course like a mouse."

• Scavenger Hunt 

For an easy activity, set up a scavenger hunt during the PE class. Before class starts, place a bunch of items around the gymnasium. Then, write on a board which items the kids need to find. This reminds the kids of Easter egg hunts and ensures that they're engaged and running around the gym without realizing that they're engaging in quality physical education. Scavenger hunts are fairly easy to set up and are the perfect activity for keeping the students happy. 

• Sidewalk Chalk  

All kinder students love playing with chalk. Chalk can be used on sidewalks and easily washed off at the end of the day. As an easy off-day for the students, hand out buckets of chalk and lead them to an empty sidewalk within the school grounds. Then, have the kids have fun writing and drawing on the sidewalk, letting their imaginations run wild. Most kindergarten-age kids can draw on the sidewalk for hours.  

Drawing with chalk has a wide variety of  benefits for young kids : 

• While playing with sidewalk chalk, kids develop color recognition, sorting, and matching skills. 
• Playing with sidewalk chalk can be one of your child's first experiences with coloring and writing.
• By allowing them to color and create their own designs with sidewalk chalk, they begin to love art and appreciate its importance. 

Introduce chalk drawing to your PE class to help them learn important skills. Sidewalk chalk gets the kids out into the air and out of the gymnasium. 

• Secret Spy 

Secret Spy involves physical activity and memory, which helps the kids to practice remembering details about the room that they are in. Learning this skill can help them later in life. Here's how to play Secret Spy. First, secretly choose one child to be the secret spy. Then, have all the kids run to a corner of the room. After everyone is in a corner, tell the kids to turn around and look at the other corners of the room. The kids should try and remember who is in the other corners of the room. After 30 seconds, the PE teacher blows the whistle, and the kids need to leave their corner and run to the middle of the room. After another 30 seconds of running around, they all return back to their original corner, except for the secret spy. The secret spy chooses a new corner of the room (and is the only one to change positions). The rest of the kids have to try and guess who left their corner. If they can't remember, you play another round. The secret spy tries to stay undetected for as long as possible.  

Secret Spy is a fun game for kids of all ages; however, it's the perfect PE activity for kinder kids because it teaches them locomotor skills while also helping them to practice their spatial awareness. 

• Playground Activity

A physical education teacher should make sure that their students are having fun. Rather than organizing an activity, let the kids have supervised activity on the playground. The kids will get plenty of exercise running around and playing on the equipment, even if it's not an organized activity. PE teachers don't have to organize every activity; sometimes, the best activity for a kindergartner is just to play with their friends in a way that helps them to build muscular endurance. Letting the kids simply enjoy playing on the playground will encourage the kindergarteners to form healthy habits and learn better fitness habits. 

Ian Boggess

About the author.

Ian has been with Castle Sports for the last 4 years. He loves designing games for fitness and activity that get the whole group involved.

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How To Get Kids Moving: 35 PE Lesson Plans

Do you groan when it comes time for physical education? Or maybe just wish you had PE lesson plans ready to follow without having to come up with ideas to get kids moving? Having a bunch of ideas to draw from makes it a lot easier to get through your PE lessons.

I break my PE ideas down into seven categories:

• Basic skills
• Early morning fitness
• Modified sports
• Indoor games

Let’s take a look at each. 

PE Lesson plans for basic skills

Basic skills are those students will need to participate in sports and sporting activities: catch, skipping, soccer pass, sprint run, overarm throw. Because some of the other PE lesson plans assume students can do these basic skills, starting with them is a great way to start the year. You could work through the five skills or pick one and then choose a PE lesson plan from one of the other areas that uses that skill. 

Here’s an example of a PE Lesson Plan for Catching that is appropriate for lower to middle primary or grades K–5. 

You’ll need this equipment: tennis balls, larger balls (netball for students having difficulties), beanbags and oval.

Start with a warm up.

Students select an object (ball or beanbag) and find a space by themselves. Have them throw the ball high into the air and clap once before catching the ball. Next have them try to clap twice and continue to see how many times they can clap and still catch the object.

Progress with the skill.

Have the students form pairs with one ball between two. (Begin with a larger ball and decrease the size as the students become more confident). Students throw to one another and practise their catching . Encourage students to throw slow and easy. Remind them that they want their partner to catch the ball. 

When they have mastered this, they can throw the ball higher or faster so the person receiving the ball needs to position themselves correctly to make the catch. Use a smaller ball to add difficulty.

Try a skill-based game.

Set the students up in a circle with one person located on the outside of the circle. Students in the circle throw a large ball around the circle, while the student on the outside runs in the opposite direction .The student running must attempt to beat the ball back to the starting position. Again, begin with a larger ball and decrease the size when the students become more competent.

PE lesson plans for early morning fitness

If you don’t have a lot of time for PE, these early morning fitness plans are a great way to get it done. Each lesson is short (only 15 minutes maximum). The benefit comes from completing them every day. This can be a great energizing start to the day. 

Early morning fitness PE lesson plans include:

• Aerobic dance
• Circuit training
• Cross country run
• Obstacle course

For some of these events, like circuit training, students will record their results and try to beat them the next time they complete the activity. 

Circuit training is appropriate for all levels. You’ll need a little bit of equipment, including skipping ropes, step, hoops, and an oval or playing field. You’ll also want a timer/stopwatch and tracking sheets with pens or pencils for students to record their results. The good news is you can adapt your circuit based on the space and equipment you have, and some activities require no equipment. 

Warm up for circuit training should be stretches of all parts of the body. 

Circuit training builds strength and flexibility. Students make their way through the different stations of the circuit with a set time on each station. The amount of time can vary based on the age of students. Station ideas for the circuit include: 

• Run 20 metres
• Jumping in and out of hoops

Have students record their results for each station. The next time you do circuit training, students should try and beat their own results. 

PE lesson plans for modified sports

While students may simply want to play sports that they know like soccer and tennis, they may not have the skills to play yet – and sometimes the court or field may be too large for younger players. PE lesson plans for modified sports give students the feel of playing sports they know with some age-appropriate modifications.

Take for example Mini-Basketball, which is appropriate for middle to upper primary students. You’ll need basketballs, a basketball court, markers, chalk, and buckets.

Set up markers to dive the court into thirds. Have students line up along one side of the court. Students skip across the first third of the court, run the second third, and skip sideways for the final third. Repeat 2–3 times. 

Have students practice dribbling, a key skill in basketball. If you have an outdoor basketball court, ask students to identify all the letters in the alphabet that have straight lines. Choose some of these letters and have students draw large versions on the court. Then students take turns dribbling on the lines of the letters of the alphabet. Children begin walking and then move to a slow run while dribbling. You can eventually build up to alternating hands. If you are using an indoor gym and cannot draw letters on the court, you can have students use the lines of the court to dribble along. 

Divide students into four teams for a relay. Set up the relay like this: a marker partway up the court and a bucket three metres further up the court, then have a line of markers for students to dribble in and out of that leads to the free throw line (or a line marked in chalk or tape closer to the net for younger students). 

The first student dribbles the ball to the first maker on the court. There they stop and shoot the ball into the bucket. If the ball goes in the bucket that person has scored two points for the team. The person retrieves the ball and dribbles in and out of the markers. They then dribble the ball to the free throw (or closer) line and take a shot. If the ball goes in, they score three points. If the ball touches the rim but does not fall in they score is two points. The person dribbles the ball back to the team and it is the next student’s turn. The team with the most points in a specified time is the winner. 

Other popular modified sports include freeball, mini-soccer, mini-tennis, nettaball, and tee-ball. 

PE lesson plans for athletics

PE lesson plans for athletics are great for students who may be interested in track and field and can be used on athletic carnival days. Think javelin, long jump, relay, and shot put. To use shot put in a PE class, you’ll need an oval or playing field, markers, shot puts (you can use different size and weight balls), a bucket, and tracking sheets with pencils.

Give each student a tennis ball. Demonstrate the correct shot put technique and have them use it to push the ball into a bucket or over a certain height. Have them try with both their preferred and nonpreferred hand.

Place markers at equal distances on the field. Students use a shot put or balls of various sizes to put over the first line and continue to see how far they can put. Have them record their results and attempt to improve the distance next time. Students can record the results with the various objects they use to put.

Place large and small balls randomly on the field. Divide students into teams. Give each team a set amount of time to put. The students put the shot put so that it hits one of the balls. If students hit a large ball, the team scores one point and if they hit a small ball, the team scores two points. Teams record their results. If time permits, teams can take another turn. The team with the highest score wins.

PE lesson plans for dance

Dance is great because it can happen anywhere. For students who do not thrive on competition, dance is a great physical activity. PE lesson plans for dance can include a chance for improvisation and learning the steps to a structured dance. I use these dances in my PE lesson plans: Cobbler’s Dance, Hokey Pokey, Let The Feet Go Tramp, Shoo Fly, Springtime On the Farm. 

Shoo-fly is a great dance activity for lower primary/K–3 students that provides both improvisation and fixed steps and helps students express moods. You’ll need space for students to dance along with a tambourine and a variety of types of music. 

Play the tambourine. Ask the children to move around the room to the beat. Change the speed and encourage students to adapt their movement. 

Have students spread out, each with their own space. Say a word related to an emotion, such as happy, sad, angry, upset, joyful, excited. Ask students to act in a way that represents the emotion. You can extend this idea by playing music with different moods and asking students to respond. 

Divide students into partners. Pairs form a single circle. Play music for “Shoo, Fly, Don’t Bother Me.” Students can sing as they move. 

Everyone walks 4 steps toward the center , swinging the arms up, singing “Shoo, fly, don’t bother me.” Then they all walk 4 steps backward , swinging the arms downward and backward, again singing, “Shoo, fly, don’t bother me.” They repeat walking in and out, singing, “Shoo, fly, don’t bother me, for I belong to somebody.” 

Partners then join both hands and turn clockwise on the spot , singing “I feel, I feel, I feel, I feel, I feel like a morning star. I feel, I feel, I feel, I feel.” The partner on the left drops the right hand as they pass the partner on the right under the left arm so that they move clockwise to the next person in the circle , singing “I feel like a morning star.” The dance is repeated with a new partner. 

PE lesson plans for gymnastics

PE lesson plans for gymnastics cover body awareness, body control, flexibility, locomotion, and strength. This is another great set of activities for students who thrive on less competition. 

You can work with body awareness without equipment. All you need is a safe space. Here’s a PE lesson plan designed for lower primary/K–3 students. 

Have students find their own space in the room. Have each student try to find out how far they can stretch their arms and legs in various directions. Explain that this is their own personal space . If students find they are touching each other during this warm up, encourage them to move until they have personal space that doesn’t interfere with others’ personal space. 

Have children sit or lie on the floor. Ask students to make different shapes for example, you might say “wavy as a snake”. Students would move like a snake along the floor. Some other examples could be to move “straight as a nail,” “commando crawl,” “swim like an Olympic swimmer.” Remind students to be aware of their personal space as they move. 

Simon says is a great way to practice this skill. Use commands like you did in the earlier exercise, but if you don’t say Simon Says, then students must continue to complete the previous movement. If you call Simon Says with a movement, the students change to the new action. 

PE lesson plans for indoor games

Ideally, PE gives students a chance to really move around outside or in a gym with plenty of space, but sometimes you won’t have that space. PE lesson plans for indoor games give you ideas for games that can be played in the classroom. These are also great ideas if you have inclement weather and hold recess indoors, or used for transitions when your class finishes work quickly, or for a refresher to motivate students.

Indoor games do not take much time to set up and use limited equipment. Some of the games I include in my repertoire are Do As I Do, Hide In Sight, Magic Carpet, Missing People, and Posture Tag. 

Because these indoor activities have a lower level of physical activity, no warm up is needed. You can use a warm up and have students try different types of movement, such as walk, tiptoe, march, or skip in place.

Mark four magic carpets equal distance apart. Identify a pathway in the classroom around which the players will walk, tiptoe or skip between the magic carpets. Have students move around the room. Practice keeping enough space between students (students should not be running into the person in front of them). 

To play the Magic Carpet game, clap your hands or use a percussion instrument or music. While you do so, students walk around the pathway in time with the clapping or music. When you call “freeze” and stop clapping, students freeze in place. Any player standing on a magic carpet is “out.” When students are out, they take a seat in the center. Repeat this process until there are only a few students remaining. To keep students in the center engaged and active, they can march or do some other activity in time with the clapping or music.

More PE lesson plans

My PE lesson plans list equipment needed, age, skill, and all the directions I need. I keep them laminated, ready to pull and carry with me to wherever my PE class is happening. PE lesson plans include:

• Warm up ideas
• Skill practices
• Suitable year level/s

I’ve got 35 PE lesson plans to last you the whole year, ready to print, laminate, and use. 

You’ll be all set to get kids moving with Physical Education Lesson Plans . 

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Fun Kindergarten PE Games With No Equipment

Kindergarten PE games play a crucial role in a young student’s physical development journey.  Fundamental movement skills (including running, jumping, balancing, throwing and catching) should be the focus of kindergarten PE .  These skills are best developed between the ages of 3 and 8 and form the basis for both PE enjoyment and leading life-long healthy lifestyles. 

The equipment you need for PE lessons will vary depending on the focus –  gymnastics , for example, will look very different to an outdoor  soccer lesson .

But what if there’s no equipment available?

Kindergarten PE games with no equipment

The ever-changing nature of school timetables means that we often find ourselves teaching kindergarten PE when we weren’t expecting to.  Or, the PE store key is missing and we’ve been left to deliver a PE lesson with no equipment. 

But don’t panic! We’ve got your back – with our Top 5 kindergarten PE games with no equipment.  All you need is space and plenty of energy!

1. The Atom Game

This activity, found in our  quick games  is always a popular warm up activity.  Ask the students to move around an area – keep changing the way they move – walking, jogging, skipping and so on.  After about half a minute call out a number.  Students must get into groups of that number as quickly as possible.  Any children not in a group, or the last to form a group, must perform a fun forfeit such, as star jumps. 

2. Truck and Trailer

Children work in pairs, with one being the truck and the other being the trailer.  The truck leads the trailer around the area, and the trailer must follow, keeping as close as they can to the truck.  Encourage the leader to move in different directions, changing speed and type of movement. 

On the signal ‘change’ the children swap roles and the trailer now becomes the truck and leads their trailer around. 

3. DVD player

Tell your kindergarten students to imagine they are inside a giant TV, and you have the remote control.  The buttons you press for your TV determines what actions the children perform.  These button actions can be introduced one by one, depending on your class ability…

• Play – children walk/jog inside the ‘TV’.
• Pause – children must freeze, like a statue.
• Rewind – children move backwards.
• Fast Forward – children move quickly, taking little quick forward steps.
• Stop – children lay down on the floor.
• Mute – children must move around in silence.

4. Chain Tag

An exciting teamwork tag game, where one child starts as the tagger.  The children move around the area, and if the tagger tags someone, they must make a link (hold hands) and become taggers together.  Each time a child is tagged, they join the chain. 

For safety, after six students are in a chain, ask the next child tagged to start a new chain.  The last un-tagged child is the winner and becomes the start tagger for the next round.

5. Grasshoppers

This is one of our favorite activities, and always popular in kindergarten PE!  ‘Grasshoppers’ uses lots of imagination and fundamental movement skills!

Ask children to pretend they are grasshoppers, as if they are moving (jumping) around in the grass.  Call out different commands and the children must complete the command with an action…

• ‘Side to Side’ – jump side to side with feet together.
• ‘Over the Stone’ – jump up high as if jumping over a stone.
• ‘Lost Grasshoppers’ – hop once in all directions – forward, backward, left and right. 
• ‘Slow Motion’ – hop as slow as possible.
• ‘Snake’ – jump as fast as they can to get away from the snakes.
• ‘Grasshoppers’ – continue jumping around the area.

We hope these fun kindergarten PE games help as a ‘back-up’ for those times when you have no choice for delivering a kindergarten PE lesson with no equipment available. 

As always, if we can help with kindergarten PE lesson planning, or ideas for any Phys Ed activities,  just shout ! 

• share the pe love 💙

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• ‘Lost Grasshoppers’ – hop once in all directions - forward, backward, left and right. 

• Pete Charrette

PE Stations: 15 Fun Ideas for Active Engagement in Elementary Physical Education Classes

Physical education plays a pivotal role in the holistic development of young learners. In the energetic, diverse environment of elementary schools, it's essential to foster a love for movement and exercise through engaging and dynamic activities. PE stations, a cornerstone in teaching physical education, offer a unique blend of fun, skill-building, and adaptable challenges that cater to a wide array of interests and abilities. By incorporating fundamental movement skills into diverse station activities, educators can capture the imagination and enthusiasm of younger students, laying the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy, active living.

The beauty of PE stations lies in their flexibility and ease of implementation. Utilizing the common equipment found in a typical elementary school gym, these stations can be set up quickly and tailored to various skill levels. This station-based approach is especially beneficial in handling large class sizes, allowing for more individualized attention and ensuring that every student remains engaged and active. From team building activities to personal challenges, PE stations provide a dynamic environment where children can develop motor and sport skills, set personal records, and most importantly, have fun while learning. By rotating through different stations, students not only experience a variety of physical activities but also learn the importance of adaptability and cooperation—skills that are invaluable both on and off the playground.

Incorporating new PE station ideas can rejuvenate your classes, providing a wealth of activities that ensure every session is lively and effective. These stations, adaptable for various needs, are an excellent way to enrich your curriculum. Explore 15 engaging PE stations that are simple to implement and offer significant benefits for your students' physical and social growth.

Overview of the Stations

Essentially, PE stations involve dividing the gym or play area into multiple smaller areas, each designated for a specific activity or skill practice. This format allows students to rotate through a variety of exercises or challenges, keeping the class engaged and lively. Incorporating pe stations into your curriculum not only enhances the variety and appeal of physical education classes but also allows for the development of fundamental movement skills and kids' sports skills in a fun and organized manner.

When setting up PE stations, consider the following tips for a smooth and effective experience:

Plan Your Space Wisely:  Ensure each station has enough room for the activity and is safely spaced out from others to prevent overcrowding and accidents.

Organize Equipment Beforehand:  Gather all the necessary equipment for each station and have it ready to minimize setup time during the class.

Clear Instructions:  Use printable station cards or online videos with clear, concise instructions and visuals. This helps students understand what to do at each station, fostering independence and reducing confusion.

Manage Time Effectively:  Allocate a specific amount of time for each station and use a timer to signal when it’s time to move to the next station. This keeps the class flowing smoothly and ensures that all students get equal time at each activity.

Supervise and Rotate:  Keep an eye on all stations, offer guidance, and ensure students are rotating efficiently to the next station.

Inclusivity and Adaptability:  Be prepared to modify activities and PE station ideas to suit different skill levels and abilities, ensuring that every student can participate and enjoy the activities.

Feedback and Encouragement:  Provide positive reinforcement and constructive feedback as students engage in the activities, fostering a supportive learning environment.

Remember, the key to a successful station-based PE class is flexibility and creativity. Feel free to adapt these PE station activities and incorporate your own great ideas readily into your teaching style and your students' needs.

15 Physical Education Station Ideas for Elementary Classes

Energize your elementary PE classes with 15 Simple and Fun PE Stations. Each one is crafted to engage, challenge, and energize students, making every PE class a highlight of their day. The stations align with Shape America's Standard 1 which states "The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns."

Station 1: Keep it Up - Volleying

Description:  The 'Keep it Up - Volley' station is an exciting activity that combines fun with agility and coordination. This station encourages students to practice their volley skills by keeping a beachball or balloon in the air using various parts of their body. It's a fantastic way to develop hand-eye coordination, timing, and body control.

Suggested Equipment:

Beachballs or balloons

Instructions:

Students grab a beachball or a balloon.

Using only their fingertips, knuckles, elbows, head, feet, or knees, they must keep the ball or balloon up in the air.

Challenge students to count the number of consecutive volleys they can achieve without letting the ball or balloon touch the ground.

Safety Tips:

Ensure there’s ample space between students to prevent accidental collisions.

Encourage students to stay aware of their surroundings to avoid running into others or tripping over equipment.

Modifications for Different Skill Levels:

For beginners, start with beachballs, which are larger and move slower than balloons.

More advanced students can try using smaller balloons or adding a gentle spin to increase difficulty.

To add a personal challenge element, have students try to beat their own record with each turn.

Station 2: Ball Handling Challenges - Basketball

Description:  This station is centered on developing basketball ball handling skills through a variety of creative and challenging exercises. By moving the ball in different ways around their body, students can improve their coordination, dexterity, and familiarity with basketball handling techniques.

Basketballs or playground balls

Students begin by tapping the ball back and forth above their head to develop hand control and movement fluidity.

Practice the rainbow toss, where they toss the ball in an arc from one hand to the other in front of their body.

Pass the ball around their waist, then down to their legs, and finally around their head without losing grip.

Perform a figure 8 dribble between their legs to enhance coordination and agility.

For those who can, try spinning the ball on one finger, which is a fun trick that improves focus and balance.

Encourage students to get creative and come up with their own unique ball handling skill.

Make sure there is enough space between students when performing these exercises to prevent accidental collisions.

Encourage students to start with slow, controlled movements and to progress to faster speeds as they gain confidence.

Beginners can focus on basic ball handling skills such as the waist and head passes without incorporating the legs.

Intermediate students should work on connecting movements together smoothly, like transitioning from the waist pass to the figure 8.

Advanced students can challenge themselves with speed and try to perform tricks like the ball spin or invent new handling skills.

Station 3: Cup Stacking Challenge - Coordination

Description:  The Cup Stacking Challenge is a fast-paced station that sharpens students' motor coordination and speed. In this activity, students are tasked with constructing and deconstructing pyramids made of cups, fostering not only dexterity but also concentration and problem-solving skills.

Plastic cups (9 per student or group)

Students quickly build three stacks of pyramids, each with three cups.

Once the pyramids are built, they must then de-stack the cups back into groups of three as quickly as possible.

Students take turns timing each other for both the upstack and downstack process to add a competitive element.

Clear the area around the cup stacking station to prevent slipping on stray cups.

Encourage students to focus on control and precision to avoid knocking cups onto themselves or others.

Beginners may start with stacking and de-stacking a single pyramid before moving onto multiple stacks.

To increase the challenge, advanced students can be asked to stack different configurations or increase the number of cups in a pyramid.

Consider implementing a 'personal best' approach where each student tries to beat their previous times, promoting personal challenge and growth.

Station 4: Paper Plate Skate - Endurance

Description:  The Paper Plate Skate station is an innovative and enjoyable way for students to explore movement. Using laminated paper plates as makeshift skates, this activity simulates the sliding motion of ice or roller skating, offering a unique opportunity to practice balance and coordination while engaging in imaginative play.

Laminated paper plates (2 per student)

Each student stands on a pair of laminated paper plates.

They then "skate" around a designated area, attempting to glide smoothly on the plates.

Encourage students to try moving in various directions: forward, backward, and sideways to challenge their agility and coordination.

Ensure the skating area is free from obstacles and has a smooth, even surface to prevent falls.

Instruct students to maintain a safe distance from each other to avoid collisions.

For beginners, allow them to hold onto a partner or a stable object as they get used to the sliding motion.

Intermediate students might try incorporating turns or small dance moves while skating.

Advanced students can attempt to navigate a simple obstacle course to test their skill and precision.

Station 5: Hoop it Up - Coordination

Description:  'Hoop it Up' is a classic station that combines fun with fitness. This hula hoop challenge not only promotes active play but also enhances core strength, coordination, and rhythm. Students will enjoy testing their skills and challenging their peers to see who can maintain the twirl the longest.

Hula hoops (one per participant)

Each student begins by selecting a hula hoop.

They start twirling the hoop around their waist, neck, arm, or one leg, maintaining the motion for as long as possible.

Encourage students to challenge each other in friendly competition to see who can keep the hoop up the longest.

Space students out to ensure they have a safe distance from each other to avoid contact with someone else’s hoop.

Remind students to focus on their own hoop to prevent distractions that could lead to a loss of control.

Beginners may focus on keeping the hoop up around their waist, which is typically easier to control.

For an added challenge, students can try to switch the hoop between their waist, neck, and limbs without letting it fall.

To incorporate a skill element, advanced students might try adding dance moves or tricks while keeping the hoop in motion.

Station 6: Beanbag Toss - Accuracy

Description:  The Beanbag Toss station emphasizes precision and hand-eye coordination, as students aim to land beanbags within the confines of a hula hoop target. This activity not only tests accuracy but also encourages students to assess their tossing or throwing strength and adjust their technique based on their distance from the target.

Place a hula hoop at a starting distance as the target.

Students toss a beanbag, aiming to get it into the hoop.

After each successful toss, they take a step back to increase the challenge.

Students can challenge a partner to a contest, seeing who can maintain consistency from varying distances or who can toss from the furthest distance.

Make sure the area around the hula hoop is clear to prevent slipping on stray beanbags.

Encourage students to be aware of their surroundings and wait for their turn to avoid beanbags flying in unexpected directions.

Beginners can start closer to the hoop and use larger beanbags for easier gripping and tossing.

To increase difficulty, students can be challenged to toss the beanbag into smaller hoops or from a greater distance.

For advanced students, introduce a point system based on the distance, where farther throws earn more points, encouraging them to set personal records.

Station 7: "Downed" Rope Challenges - Agility

Description:  This station is all about agility and balance, using short jump ropes laid out on the floor. Students will mimic tightrope walking and jumping across the rope, enhancing their coordination, balance, and spatial awareness. These varied movements not only engage different muscle groups but also introduce the fundamentals of agility training in a fun and accessible way.

Short jump ropes or any similar rope laid on the ground

Students start by walking along the rope as if it's a tightrope, placing one foot directly in front of the other.

Next, they jump back and forth over the rope, using both feet and then just one, like a hopscotch pattern.

See how far they can long jump following the line of the rope.

For an added challenge, students crisscross their legs while jumping over the rope to improve agility.

Ensure that the ropes are securely placed on the ground to prevent slipping.

Space out the students so they have ample room to jump and move without bumping into each other.

Beginners can focus on slow, deliberate movements to maintain balance while walking the 'tightrope.'

Intermediate students can increase their speed and introduce one-footed jumps.

Advanced students can attempt to perform the crisscross jumps at a faster pace or increase the length of their long jumps.

Station 8: Over the Hurdles - Track & Field

Description:  'Over the Hurdles' station gives students a taste of track and field athletics, focusing on the exhilarating hurdle race. It's designed to improve agility, speed, and jumping ability in a controlled environment. This station can be a fun challenge, encouraging students to push their limits and practice their pacing over a short distance.

Set of hurdles (adjustable for height) or cones with a pool noodle laying across them

Cones to mark the end turn and start

Students take turns running towards the hurdles and leaping over them with proper form.

After clearing the hurdles, they run around a cone set at the end of the course and sprint back to the start.

Students can run side by side with a partner for a friendly race or time each other to add a competitive element.

Adjust the height of the hurdles according to the age and ability level of the students to prevent injuries.

Ensure there’s adequate space between the hurdles and that the landing area is clear of any obstacles.

Instruct students on proper hurdling technique to ensure safety during leaps and landings.

Beginners can practice with lower hurdles or even lines or tapes on the ground to simulate hurdles.

Intermediate students should focus on improving their leap technique and landing.

Advanced students can attempt higher hurdles or focus on increasing their speed between the hurdles

Station 9: Scarf Juggling - Mental Focus

Description:  Scarf Juggling is a delightful station that introduces students to the basics of juggling in a simple and accessible way. This activity helps improve hand-eye coordination, timing, and concentration. Starting with one or two scarves—or even plastic grocery bags for a more environmentally friendly twist—students can progress at their own pace until they are able to juggle multiple items.

Scarves or lightweight plastic grocery bags

Students start by grabbing one or two scarves or plastic bags.

Begin by tossing and catching the items at varying heights, both high and low.

As students become more adept, they can increase the challenge by adding a third item into their juggling pattern.

Ensure students have enough space around them to prevent interference with others.

Remind students to focus on the items they are juggling, keeping their movements controlled and their eyes on the scarves at all times.

Beginners should start with one scarf, focusing on consistent tossing and catching.

Once comfortable, they can add a second scarf, practicing the hand-to-hand toss.

Advanced students can attempt to juggle three scarves, incorporating different patterns and heights for an additional challenge.

Station 10: Zig Zag Dribble - Soccer Dribbling

Description:  Zig Zag Dribble is a station designed to hone soccer dribbling skills. Through weaving in and out of a cone course, students can improve their ball control and footwork, which are essential skills on the soccer field. This exercise not only enhances agility and coordination but also builds confidence in handling the ball under pressure.

Soccer balls (one per student)

Cones set up in a zigzag formation

Each student starts with a soccer ball at the beginning of the cone course.

The objective is to dribble the ball through the cones, weaving in and out without touching or knocking them over.

After navigating the zigzag pattern, students dribble the ball straight back to the start as quickly and as controlled as possible.

Ensure the cones are spaced out enough to provide a challenge yet allow for safe maneuvering.

Encourage students to keep their heads up while dribbling to promote spatial awareness and prevent collisions.

Beginners can walk the ball through the cones, focusing on control and gentle touches.

Intermediate students should work on maintaining a jogging pace while keeping the ball close.

Advanced students can be challenged to dribble through the cones at a faster pace or with fewer touches to increase difficulty.

Station 11: Playground Ball - Tossing and Catching

Description:  This station is designed to enhance hand-eye coordination and reaction time with a series of tossing and catching challenges using a playground ball. By varying the tossing heights and incorporating different movements before catching, students can improve their agility and coordination in a playful and dynamic way.

Playground balls (one per student)

Students start by tossing the playground ball in the air and catching it.

Next, they let the ball bounce once before clapping their hands or turning around and then catching it.

Students try tossing the ball, letting it bounce under their leg, and then catching it.

Encourage students to experiment with catching the ball at different levels, such as reaching high above their heads or squatting to catch it low.

Ensure each student has a clear space around them to prevent collisions during the turning or under-the-leg maneuvers.

Remind students to keep their eyes on the ball at all times to safely coordinate their movements.

Beginners can focus on basic toss and catch skills, gradually introducing the bounce as they become more comfortable.

Intermediate students can add the clapping or turning around to make the task more challenging.

Advanced students can attempt to catch the ball on the bounce after performing a full 360-degree turn or catching it after multiple claps to increase difficulty.

Station 12: Jump Rope - Coordination and Fitness

Description:  Jump Rope station is a classic exercise that significantly enhances coordination, rhythm, and cardiovascular fitness. Using individual short ropes, students can challenge themselves to maintain a continuous rhythm and try various jump styles to keep the activity engaging and beneficial.

Individual short jump ropes (one per student)

Each student starts with a jump rope and begins to jump continuously, aiming to keep going for as long as possible.

Introduce skier jumps, where students jump side to side over the rope, mimicking a skiing motion.

Practice bell jumps by jumping front to back, adding variety to the movements.

Encourage students to turn the rope both forwards and backward, incorporating a jogging step to vary the tempo and difficulty.

Ensure students are spaced out to prevent the ropes from getting tangled with one another.

Check that each rope is the correct length for the student using it to prevent tripping.

Remind students to jump on the balls of their feet to cushion their landings.

Beginners may focus on single jumps with both feet together, working on finding their rhythm.

Intermediate students can try alternating feet, like a slow jogging step, as they jump.

Advanced students can challenge themselves with double unders (where the rope passes under the feet twice in one jump) or increase the speed of their jogging step.

Station 13: Soccer Juggling - Ball Control

Description:  Soccer Juggling station is an excellent way for students to practice and improve their ball control. Whether with a soccer ball, beach ball, or balloon, this activity helps develop coordination, timing, and finesse. It's a fundamental skill in soccer that enhances a player's ability to control the ball during a game.

Soccer balls, beach balls, or balloons (one per student)

Each student selects a ball of their choice.

The goal is to keep the ball in the air using only their feet, knees, chest, and head.

Encourage students to count how many times they can juggle the ball without it touching the ground.

Ensure that students have plenty of space around them to avoid collisions.

For those using a soccer ball, remind them to use the flat parts of their feet and to bend their knees for better control.

Beginners may start with larger, lighter balls like beach balls or balloons that move slower and are easier to control.

Intermediate students should focus on using a soccer ball and mixing different body parts for juggling.

Advanced students can set personal challenges, such as juggling only with their feet or alternating between different body parts without the ball touching the ground.

Station 14: Cross the River - Balance & Agility

Description:  'Cross the River' is a playful station that challenges students' balance and agility. By using poly spot markers laid out to represent stones across a river, this activity mimics a stepping stone challenge that requires careful foot placement and balance.

Poly spot markers (or any flat markers that can simulate river stones)

Arrange the poly spot markers on the floor in a zigzag or maze pattern, representing stones in a river.

Students start at one end and jump from marker to marker, pretending to cross a river by only stepping on the 'stones.'

The goal is to make it to the finish line and back without 'falling off' the rocks.

Encourage students to plan their route and adjust their balance as they leap from one spot to the next.

Ensure that the markers are spaced appropriately to match the students' jumping abilities.

Check that the floor around the markers is clear and free of any slip hazards.

Remind students to focus on controlling their jumps to maintain balance and prevent falls.

Beginners may take larger steps or small hops instead of jumps and use more closely spaced markers.

Intermediate students should attempt to jump with both feet together, making precise landings.

Advanced students can increase the distance between the markers or add a one-footed hopping element to raise the difficulty level.

Station 15: Javelin (Pool Noodle) Throw - Track & Field

Description:  The Javelin Throw station introduces students to the track and field event in a safe and fun way using pool noodles. This activity allows students to work on their throwing technique and upper body strength while engaging in a bit of friendly competition to see who can achieve the farthest throw.

Pool noodles (one per student)

A set line for throwing behind

Measuring tape (optional for recording distances)

Students line up behind the set line with a pool noodle in hand.

They take turns throwing the noodle as far as they can, ensuring they use proper form to mimic a javelin throw.

After each throw, compare distances to see if students can throw farther than their partners.

Encourage each student to try to beat their own personal best with each attempt.

Make sure there is a clear and secure area for throwing and that no one is in the path of the noodle.

Teach students the proper way to hold and release the noodle to prevent any accidents.

Ensure students are supervised, especially when attempting to measure and retrieve the noodles.

Beginners may focus on the basic technique of holding and releasing the noodle.

Intermediate students can work on improving their throw by incorporating a run-up or adjusting their grip.

Advanced students can aim for accuracy by trying to throw the noodle to a specific target area as well as distance.

Integrating the Stations into Your PE Curriculum

Incorporating stations into pe programs:.

Physical Education programs thrive on variety and adaptability, and incorporating stations can significantly enhance the learning experience. Here are some strategies for integrating these stations into your existing curriculum:

Circuit Training:  Implement stations as part of a circuit training program. Assign students to stations, allowing them to spend a set amount of time at each before rotating. This approach ensures that all students are actively engaged and can experience each activity.

Skill-Based Days:  Dedicate certain days to specific skill developments, such as balance, coordination, or agility, and select stations that focus on these skills. This targeted approach can help students improve in areas that are most relevant to their needs.

Warm-Ups/Cool-Downs:  Use some of the simpler stations as warm-up or cool-down activities to prepare students for more intense activity or to wind down after a vigorous class.

Integrated Learning:  Combine stations with other curriculum areas. For example, incorporate math by having students count repetitions or measure distances, enhancing both physical and cognitive skills.

Modifying Stations for Different Needs:

Flexibility is key to accommodating diverse class sizes, spaces, and student needs. Here are some tips for adjusting stations:

Adapting to Space:  If space is limited, modify activities to fit a smaller area, such as shortening relay distances or using half of a court. For larger spaces, spread out stations to avoid overcrowding and to use the space effectively.

Class Size:  For larger classes, duplicate stations to prevent long wait times. In smaller classes, you might combine two stations into one to keep students engaged without overwhelming them with too many activities.

Different Abilities:  Adapt stations to cater to varying skill levels. This might include lowering the height of hurdles, using larger balls for easier handling, or allowing more time for each activity.

Student Interests:  Take into account student interests and allow for choices. Give students a say in which stations they'd like to try or have them suggest modifications to activities, fostering a sense of ownership and motivation.

Inclusion:  Ensure that all stations are inclusive. This might mean having alternative activities available for students with different physical abilities or providing additional support where needed.

By considering these suggestions, PE teachers can create an environment that is not only physically educational but also inclusive, enjoyable, and tailored to the needs of all students.

Final Thoughts

Incorporating a range of fun and diverse stations into elementary PE classes can transform the traditional physical education experience. These stations not only bring a fresh burst of energy and excitement to PE classes but also cater to the varied interests and abilities of young learners. By offering a spectrum of activities—from skill-based challenges to creative physical play—we foster an environment where every child can thrive.

As educators, the invitation is to embrace creativity and adapt these stations to fit your unique teaching style and the specific needs of your students. There is no one-size-fits-all in education, especially in an environment as dynamic as the gymnasium. Feel free to tweak the activities, mix them up, or even invent completely new ones that will resonate with your classes. If you've tried implementing any of these stations, or if you've developed variations of your own, I'd love to hear about your experiences. Your insights and innovations are not only welcome but can serve as inspiration to the wider PE teaching community.

Download 15 FREE PE Station Signs!

Are you looking for station cards that combine fun and engagement with clear instructions and top-notch graphics for your physical education classes? Look no further, Cap'n Pete's Cap'n Pete's Power PE has you covered!

Fill in the form below to download 15  FREE  Fun and Engaging PE Station Signs. The set is a PDF digital download that includes the following PE stations (as seen in this article) that can be implemented using standard PE equipment: Keep it Up, 2. Ball Handling Challenges, 3. Cup Stacking, 4. Paper Plate Skate, 5. Hoop it Up, 6. Beanbag Toss, 7. Downed Rope Challenges, 8. Over the Hurdles, 9. Scarf Juggling, 10. Zig Zag Dribble,11. PG Ball; Tossing and Catching, 12. Jump Rope, 13. Soccer Juggling, 14. Cross the River, and 15. Javelin Throw

This freebie set will be sure to enhance your PE curriculum for years!

Check out this PE Stations: Triple Pack Bundle with 132 Movement, Skill and Sport Zones

Discover the ultimate collection for your PE program with Cap'n Pete's Power PE's comprehensive bundle! This set combines all three of our popular PE Station Zones series:

PE Fitness Stations:  44 zones for maximum movement, focusing on personal fitness elements like cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, locomotor movement, and muscular strength.

PE Sport Stations:  44 skill-sharpening zones covering a range of sports such as base games, basketball, gym hockey, racquet sports, soccer, track and field, and volleyball.

PE Stations Kids Love:  44 zones of frolicking fun, designed for enjoyable movements and tasks with common equipment.

You can find this set on Cap'n Pete's Power PE website here  or at my Teachers Pay Teachers store located here .

In total, you'll receive 132 stations, each with its own station card, perfect for fitness units, warm-ups, sport skills, or just plain fun throughout the school year. The accompanying cards offer clear instructions and engaging graphics, highlighting the fitness components, motor skills, or PE concepts involved. Mix and match these stations in your classes or sessions for a fresh, fun, and effective PE experience. Whether you're a PE teacher, classroom teacher, or group leader in a camp or church setting, these stations are flexible and adaptable for your unique environment.

• Stations and Circuits
• Manipulative Skills
• Fitness Activities

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RIS Nursery Zhukovka is an international kindergarten located in the ecologically clean area of ​​the nearest Moscow region, surrounded by age-old pine trees, where everything is imbued with the spirit of the scientific and creative intelligentsia.

Here, in harmony with nature, in the most comfortable home atmosphere, every detail is designed and the best conditions for diversified development, bilingual education and a full-fledged child's early childhood care are created.

English kindergarten in Zhukovka (on the Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway) was founded in 2008 by a team of psychologists of the Moscow State University. Lomonosov with the support of specialists from the largest educational organizations of England, Cambridge and Edexcel.

Today RIS Nursery has international and Russian accreditations, which confirms the highest world level of the quality of education.

A team of highly qualified teachers from the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia with warmth and care provide an individual-personal approach in teaching and nurturing kids from 1.5 to 6 years of age.

In RIS Nursery two main programs are simultaneously realized: International , based on the English Early Development Program (the Early Years Foundation Stage of the English National Curriculum), and Russian .

In RIS Nursery two main programs are simultaneously realized: International, based on the English Early Development Program (the Early Years Foundation Stage of the English National Curriculum), and Russian.

As an additional language, Chinese is studied, and for individual classes you can choose French, Italian, German or Spanish.

The RIS programme integrates the best achievements and practice of domestic and foreign pre-school pedagogy, offering an optimal combination of traditions and innovations, and is aimed at the diversified development of the child's personality: intellectual, physical, psychological, creative social and emotional spheres.

In the kindergarten in Zhukovka, a child can attend various sports and creative studios such as Wushu, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Chess, Piano Training, Vocals and many others.

For children up to 2 years old can attend early years children's studio.

We form and support in children such values ​​as curiosity, initiative, readiness and the ability to explore new things in the world around them, the desire to learn, dedication, effectiveness, creativity, systematic thinking, positive socialization, the ability to interact flexibly and constructively with other people, psychological comfort and health.

In addition, in their work, all specialists of the kindergarten necessarily take into account the uniqueness of each child and place emphasis on individualization, the diversity of educational trajectories.

Graduates of RIS Nursery are fluent in English, highly developed intellectually and have high analytical abilities, ability to think widely, high level of erudition and motivation for schooling.

If you are looking for the best private kindergarten in Rublevka, we invite you to visit RIS Nursery Zhukovka.

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Youngest Learners in Evergreen Public Schools Make Gains in Transition to Kindergarten Program

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Katy Payne   she/her 360-764-0201

Dana Shrock’s classroom isn’t just desks and a whiteboard. It has a movement area with obstacle courses and trampolines. It has a math area with games and books. And one area of Shrock’s classroom has been a bakery, a pet shop, and a garden.

She has designed her classroom this way because her students are 4-year-olds participating in her school district’s Transition to Kindergarten (TK) program. At that age, children learn by playing, Shrock said.

“Play is the vehicle [for] everything,” Shrock said. “A lot of times, they don’t realize they’re learning. They’re playing, but with high-quality games and high-quality toys.”

In TK programs, school districts use a screening process to identify and serve children who need additional preparation to be successful in kindergarten the following year. Across Washington, 144 school districts offered TK programs that served more than 5,000 students during the 2023–24 school year.

Shrock, who has taught preschool through fourth grade since 2000, is in her second year of teaching TK at Evergreen Public Schools near Vancouver. She and Gaelynn Mills, the district’s Early Learning Coordinator, credit the program’s play-based approach for the positive impact it’s having on TK students as they enter kindergarten.

All students entering kindergarten in Washington participate in the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS), an observational assessment that evaluates students’ readiness for kindergarten in six different domains: cognitive, language, literacy, math, physical, and social-emotional. Fall 2023 data from Evergreen Public Schools show that kindergarteners who participated in TK outperformed their peers in at least three domains of WaKIDS.

“When they came into kindergarten [this] year, they came in as confident learners and leaders,” Mills said.

The school district tracks TK students’ literacy, math, and social-emotional readiness, the three domains of WaKIDS that have been identified as “vital signs that would indicate the growth that we wanted to see,” Mills said.

In literacy, 98.3% of kindergarteners who participated in TK exhibited readiness, compared to 68.3% of kindergarteners who did not participate in TK. In math, 88.3% of kindergarteners who participated in TK exhibited readiness, compared to 60.2% of their peers. And in social-emotional readiness, 93.3% of kindergarteners who participated TK exhibited readiness, compared to 73.7% of their peers. The gains in each domain for students who participated in TK were 30 percentage points, 28.1 percentage points, and 19.6 percentage points, respectively.

The students benefiting from these gains are those who don’t have access to other high-quality early learning opportunities, Shrock and Mills said.

“There’s kids that are here that would not have these experiences that wouldn’t be as ready for kindergarten as they could be,” Shrock said. “It’s not because they’re not capable, it’s just because they don’t have the exposure. … I think all kids deserve access to learning.”

Across Washington, access to preschool is a challenge in many communities. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), 75% of Washington’s 4-year-olds did not access preschool during the 2022–23 school year.

State- and federally-funded early learning programs are available to families who meet specific income requirements. Evergreen Public Schools has been surveying families on their interest in preschool programs since 2015, Mills said, and that interest is one of the reasons that the school district created their TK program three years ago.

“We know that a lot of children can’t access programs, either because they don’t qualify for those that are free or they can’t afford the community private, tuition-based programs,” Mills said. “TK was an effort to fill that gap.”

Katie Plamondon, a kindergarten teacher in the same school where Shrock teaches, said many of her students enter her classroom without preschool experience. She said she was “thrilled” when TK was introduced.

“We get kids who are just in our area and that feed into our school, so those kids [are] getting the opportunity to be familiar with our school and the school setting and the some of routines at school,” Plamondon said. “It’s phenomenal.”

This year was the first that Plamondon had students in her class who had participated in TK. Along with their skills in literacy and math, she said she also saw that they knew how to manage their feelings, work with their peers, and make friends. And because the former TK students already knew the school, they were able to help new students get acclimated.

“It was nice this year to have those leaders in your classroom that the kids could look up to,” Plamondon said.

Evergreen Public Schools will offer more TK classes during the 2024–25 school year, and more school districts across the state are also expected to offer TK programs next year. Samantha Bowen, Executive Director of Early Learning at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), said that expanding access to early learning opportunities is the right thing to do for Washington’s youngest learners.

“Every child is unique, and that's what makes them amazing,” Bowen said. “We need to meet children where they are, and create programs and early childhood experiences that fit with the family. I think TK is part of that.”

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