Move & Learn

Mix up movement, math, and literacy skills with these healthy activities for kids.

Follow My Pattern

Take turns creating dances that repeat patterns—everyone else follows along! For younger children, keep the patterns simple (jump, wiggle, jump, wiggle). For older children, the pattern might be “jump, jump, wiggle, hop, jump, jump, wiggle, hop.”

ABC Stretch With Me

Draw a letter on paper, call out its name, and tell children to bend, stretch, and twist to form that letter the best they can. (Challenge older children to think of different words that begin with the letter while they move. Small groups may even spell out a short word, like “cat,” with their bodies.)

Move & Count

Invite children to move their bodies in a certain way, a specific number of times (“Hop 5 times…spin 3 times!”). With younger children, count out loud on your fingers as they follow your directions. With older children, you might use simple number sentences in your directions (“Hop 3 plus 2 times, how many hops in all? Spin 2 plus 1 times, how many spins in all?”).