Author: GHoffman

Exercise
Health and Wellness
School Readiness Kits
This kit was created and assembled by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives in collaboration with the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute with funding from the School Ready Libraries Grant ; adapted from the work of the Grant County Public Library.

Health and Wellness: Exercise
Goals
Moves with purpose and coordination.
Demonstrates control, balance, and coordination.
Exhibits eye-hand coordination.
Identify benefits gained from regular participation in physical activities and describe activities that will promote a physically active lifestyle
Participates in daily physical activity during and after school
These goals were taken from Building a Strong Foundation for School Success: Kentucky’s Early Childhood Standards https://kidsnow.ky.gov/families/readiness/Documents/early-childhood-standards.pdf
“Gross motor development: having control over and coordination of movements of the entire body or large portions of it. This encompasses one’s ability to walk, run, jump, skip, climb, slide, balance, swing, and the like; sharpening of eye-hand coordination; and being able to use both sides of the body together to plan and execute movements.” 2

January 2018
Page 1

Write
Suggested Activities
Place a large piece of paper on the wall and put on some lively music. Let the children use markers or crayons to draw on the paper.
If outside give children paint brushes with water or sidewalk chalk and encourage them to move their bodies as they paint or draw.
Put on some fun music and dance any way you feel.
Create a obstacle course of materials found around the house (things to jump over, run around, etc)
School Readiness Asides to Parents and Caregivers
An obstacle course challenges children to use different muscle groups and their problem solving skills.
By drawing or painting on large surfaces, children are using fine motor skills to grasp the pencil or brush and large motor skills to move their body.

January 2018
Page 3

Read
Suggested Activities
Read a story and have the children act it out or parts of it out. For example, they can act out what movements animals make.
Read some of the books in the kit and act them out.
If creating an obstacle course either create a map that the children will read or make signs for each obstacle so children will know how many times they are supposed to complete the activity at that obstacle.
School Readiness Asides to Parents and Caregivers
Having children act out stories with a variety of movements helps them develop their gross motor skills.” 2
Creating a map for the obstacle course gives children a chance to practice reading and following directions.

January 2018
Page 2

Sing
Hokey Pokey
Put your left foot in, Put your left foot out,
Put your left foot in, And shake it all about.
You do the hokey pokey And turn yourself around.
Now put your right foot in, Your right foot out,
Put your right foot in And shake it all about.
And then you do the hokey pokey Turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about!
Shake Your Sillies Out
I've gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out And wiggle my waggles away
I've gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out
Jump, jump, jump my jiggles outJump, jump, jump my jiggles out And wiggle my waggles away
I've gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies outAnd wiggle my waggles away And wiggle my waggles away

January 2018
Page 4

Talk
Suggested Activities
Help children expand their vocabulary while working on their motor skills by playing a game of charades. Have charades cards or activities ready and have the kids act them out.
Play the “Verb Game”. Say a very and have the children do the movements to the verb. (e.g. jump, clap, write, mix, etc.).
As you exercise with the children, talk about body parts such as the ones that aren’t usually named- forehead, shoulders, etc.
School Readiness Asides to Parents and Caregivers
Children not only enjoy acting out in a game of charades, they also enjoy trying to guess. Have the children work in teams to make this a cooperative game.
Movement helps to develop good balancing skills. Show your children how to move their bodies in a variety of ways.

January 2018
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January 2018
Page 7

Play
Suggested Activities
Play some music and let the kids dance.
Play a game of follow the leader or Simon Says.
Encourage children to make up their own exercises such as laying down jumping jacks. Even silly exercise is great for the heart and muscles!
School Readiness Asides to Parents and Caregivers
Moving to music, dancing, swaying, running, and jumping help young children feel rhythm and begin to understand how their bodies work. Such movements also help them gain muscle control and improve balance. All of this contributes to a child’s gross motor development.” 1
Children love to move and by encouraging them to make up their own exercise, they will enjoy it even more.

January 2018
Page 6

Citation Page
ALIGNMENT OF STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS. (2003, October 1). Retrieved March 07, 2017, from https://kidsnow.ky.gov/families/readiness/Documents/early-childhood-standards.pdf

January 2018
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January 2018
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