As we envision back to school, one thing is certain: this year will be different. Even if schools have in-classroom learning, social distancing will be important. So what do we do about physical education? Kids need to stay active, and while you might not be able to teach skill development, sports, or fitness, where students are sharing the same equipment, it is possible to continue PE classes in this environment. Not sure where to start? We’ve come up with this list of social distancing PE activities and games to help you out!
Ready. Set. Race!
One good thing about racing is that it tends to be a solo sport! Stagger students six feet apart and they’re ready to race. Make it a challenge by introducing hurdles or sprints between cones. You could even work on hand-eye coordination by having students race with an egg balanced on a spoon.
Prep for a Cat Cow Yoga Pose
Give each child their own yoga mat for the semester or year, and you’re ready to introduce a set of poses. And let’s face it, keeping students mindful and calm will be key this year. Not sure where to start? Use yoga cards to walk students through the poses.
Play a Round of Frisbee Golf
Frisbee golf is great for pairing students up on teams. Give each student their own frisbee and set up a course. The first one to get their frisbee to the target wins!
Get Warmed Up
You don’t always have to use equipment to break a sweat! Use these exercises to get students warmed up.
Learn More: Active@Home
Dance to the Beat
Nearly all kids love to dance! Turn on some music and teach a variety of dance steps or let them freestyle. For the hesitant students, give them a task like coming up with a greeting using only their feet. If you’re looking to implement a complete dance unit, try SPARKdance.
Play an Activity Game
There are so many great activity games you can play as a class. Try Simon Says, Red Light/Green Light, or even do a round of charades! Another one of our favorite social distancing PE activities is doing Mirror Movements. Pair up students and have them face each other, six feet apart. One student does a movement and the other tries to mirror it!
Source: Dr. Patricia
Practice Sports Drills
While students may not be able to play a team sport, it doesn’t mean they can’t practice the drills behind that sport. Ideas include throwing a football through a hula hoop, kicking a soccer ball into a goal, throwing a basketball into a hoop (these ones even show hand placement for proper shooting!), or using a field hockey stick to hit pucks into a net. As long as students have their own clearly-marked ball and maintain distance, they can easily continue to practice skills.
Create a High Wire Act
Mark off a length of the floor with tape and allow students to walk across it like a balance beam! If they fall off, have them do jumping jacks and go to the back of the line to start again. Want to make it more of a challenge? Have them do different moves along the tape (somersaults or cartwheels for a gymnastics element) or create zig/zags or an obstacle course with the tape.
Source: Asphalt Green
Get Moving
Scatter students around the room or field and have them work on their movement skills. Give them their own balls to juggle, have them jump rope, or even offer them a hula hoop to get those hips moving. See who can do it the longest or have them compete against themselves to increase the number each round.
Use Exercise Cards
Still at a loss? Need ideas for warm-up activities? Take out a pack of exercise cards and get students moving through a series of exercises. Make it even more fun and roll a large dice to see how many reps they should do of each exercise!
Looking for exercise equipment for all your active students this year? Make sure to check out Gopher , the leader in quality physical education, athletics, and fitness equipment.
