Keeping active indoors
By Michelle Blackwood
As Early Years practitioners we are aware of the benefits of physical activity for children in our nursery
and often plan opportunities for outdoor play to encourage the children to be active. However, as
summer approaches and the temperatures soar, opportunities for outdoor play are reduced and we
often struggle to find ways to incorporate physical activities into our indoor environment.
With the levels of obesity in nursery aged children on the rise, it is important that, even in the summer
months, we provide opportunities for children to be physically active indoors on a daily basis. Why
not try out some of the activities below to promote physical exercise indoors.
Physical Activity Ideas for Crawlers: Texture Trip
What you need:
Different textured materials such as pillows and cushions of different sizes, fluffy floor mats, bubble
wrap taped to the floor – anything that young children can crawl on or over.
What to do:
Lay out the different materials on the floor
and encourage the children to crawl on or
over the different materials. For children
who are just beginning to crawl try adding
a few toys as an incentive.
Physical Activity Ideas for 2-3’s: Traffic Lights
What you need:
A paper plate steering wheel for each child, a red, yellow and green spot and a large indoor area
What to do:
• Explain the rules of the game to the children, discussing what the different colours mean:
o Red spot – stop and sit down on the floor
o Yellow (amber) spot – jump on the spot
o Green spot – run around the room
• Practice these actions a few times and if you feel the children are ready for some new actions add
the following:
o Reverse – walk backwards
o Roundabouts - sit on the floor and spin around on your bottom
• Once the children are used to the actions you can try adding musical instruments instead of your
coloured spots to support their sound discrimination.