Walk the Line
Children will practice balance and motor coordination by walking on a rope line on the floor.
Learning Area(s): Physical Development
MATERIALS
- Long piece of rope
LET'S PLAY
Lay the long piece of rope in a straight line on the floor (or on the grass outside). Show your toddler how to walk, one foot in front of the other, along the rope. See if you can stay on the rope the entire time, putting arms out to balance. Then invite your toddler to do the same. Once comfortable with this, your toddler can try walking sideways and backwards.
Next, rearrange the rope into a zigzag pattern on the floor. Your child can try to walk the line again.
With the rope still on the floor, ask your child what other ways there are to play with the line. Can he jump or hop over it? With one foot and then two feet? Crawl down the line or over it? Walk using tiptoes only?
TIPS
- You may need to tape down the ends of the rope or put something heavy on each end to keep the rope in place.
- This activity can also be done with masking tape on the floor. You can try all sorts of different patterns, intersections, curved lines, straight lines, zigzags, etc.
- With a little imagination, this activity can be incorporated into pretend play or used to act out a story you have read with your child. For example, you could pretend that the rope is a tightrope at a circus, or a log or bridge across water, or the rope could be a snake.
- Try placing bean bags along the line and having your child jump over them.
