The warm up is a crucial part of any PE lesson. It should prepare the body for exercises by gradually increasing heart rate and circulation.
The process of the warm up should loosen the joints and increase blood flow to the muscles, preparing the body for physical activity and preventing injuries.
Delivering physical education in the cooler months can be a challenge for teachers, yet with these five fun drills you can help to ensure pupils are engaged during the PE warm up.
5 fun warm up exercises for kids
Drill 1: In the army
This involves children running around inside a marked area and regularly changing direction. The teacher is in control and on his command, the following actions are performed by the pupils:
Grenade: Children lay face down on the floor
Lights out: Children lay face up on the floor
Retreat: Children sprint on the spot
Don’t move: Children stand still
Drill 2: TV Remote
The next drill involves a similar sizes area, again with the teacher in charge of commands:
Play: Children slowly run around the area
Pause: Children freeze on the spot
Fast forward: Children move quicker than normal
Rewind: Children slowly move backwards
Broken: Children fall to the floor
Drill 3: Domes and Dishes
Set inside a larger hall, this drill involves equipment: a stack of cones and a whistle.
To complete the drill, split pupils into two teams. The first team are domes and the second team are dishes.
Once the whistle blows, both teams have to try and turn over as many cones as possible, either a dome or a dish. After a minute, count up the dome and dish cones and the winner are the team with the most. This can be played two or three times.
Drill 4: In the Zoo
The fourth drill is similar to drill one and two. Children move around changing directions, and on the teacher’s command, the following actions are performed:
Giraffe: Make a tall movement
Snake: Wriggle on the floor
Monkey: Leaping and bounding movements
Kangaroo: Bouncing movement
Crabs: Walking on hands and feet
Drill 5: Space Invaders
In this warm up drill, the teacher calls different space objects and the children perform different activities:
Blast off: Move quickly
The big bang: Jump
Walk on the moon: Long, high strides
Aliens attack: Lay on the floor
Shooting star: 5 star jumps
You can read more of our ‘5 tips’ blog posts here.
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