Summer Backyard Games

I would love to see pictures of you and your little ones doing these summer backyard games.


Animal Exercises

• Wiggle Worm – Lie on your stomach. Move forward by bending and twisting your body.
• Lame Dog – Get down on your hands and knees. Lift one hand or one leg and move forward.
• Bear Walk – Move forward with your right hand and right foot, then move with your left hand and left foot (teaches ipsilateral movement).
• Crab Walk – Lie with your back to the ground. Push up and hold your body with your arms and legs. Move in many different directions.
• Seal Crawl – Get into the pushup position. Walk forward with your hands and drag your feet. Keep your head up and keep your body straight.
• Stork Stand – Shift all of your weight to one foot, then place the sole of your other foot against the calf of the standing leg. Hold as long as possible.
• Elephant Walk – From a standing position, bend forward at the waist. With your arms down, clasp your hands together to be the elephant's trunk. Walk with your knees slightly bent, back rounded, and arms swinging side to side. Make elephant noises.
• Crocodile Crawl – Take a front lying position on your hands and knees. Crawl forward, moving your right arm and left leg at the same time. Then, move your left arm and right leg (teaches contralateral pattern).
• Frog Jump – Start in a squatting position. Spring forward and land in the starting position. Make frog sounds as you jump.
• Rabbit Jump – Squat and place your hands on the floor ahead of your feet. Move forward by reaching out first with both hands and then bringing both feet up to your hands.
• Camel Walk – Walk on your hands and feet with back arched high.
• Kangaroo Hop – Place your hands in front of your body like a kangaroo's paws. From a squatting position, hop forward.