10 Simple Balance Activities for Kids
Does your child need to practice balance skills? There are many every day activities that help to strengthen children’s overall skills to maintain their balance. When children practice these types of skills all day long it is easier to see improvements. Check out these simple balance activities for kids.
WHAT ARE BALANCE ACTIVITIES?
Balance activities are any activities that challenge a person’s ability to balance. This can be done by using different parts of the body, different surfaces, different speeds, or different positions. You can lead students in an indoor environment like your classroom or an outdoor place like a playground or blacktop.
BENEFITS OF BALANCING ACTIVITIES
There are many benefits of encouraging kids to do balance activities. Just the participation in a physical activity alone can boost a child’s energy, happiness, and self-esteem. Balance activities also help improve a child’s:
- Gross motor skills
- Coordination skills
- Muscle strength
- Agility
- Cardiovascular fitness
- Balance
- Posture
- Endurance
And because balance activities are often active and require concentration, they can also help improve a child’s:
- Attention span
- Focus
- Memory
SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR BALANCE ACTIVITIES
There are many balance activities that can be done with little or no equipment. However, there are some supplies that can be helpful to have on hand to make the activities more challenging or fun. These include:
- A stopwatch or timer
- Cones or other markers
- Bean bags
- Hula hoops
- Bucket
- Balls of various sizes (tennis ball, golf ball, kickball)
- A balance beam or other raised surface
- Obstacles for an obstacle course
- Chalk
- Pillow
- Bubbles
- Step stool
Find creative ways to use some of these supplies together to create balance activities. Or use some of the ideas below!
10 simple balance activities for kids to practice throughout the day
Here are some easy ways to encourage balance practice in children:
1. Walk up and down stairs or curbs – each time you take a step you are balancing on one foot.
2. Ride a bicycle – this task requires postural control and balance
3. Ride a scooter – obviously three wheeled scooters are easier than two wheeled scooters
4. Walk on uneven terrain – walk on grass, rocks or dirt. Wet, thick, mud is a big challenge. Walk on uneven terrain with no shoes on for a bigger challenge ie sand.
5. Play a game of kickball or soccer. You need to stand on one foot to kick the ball.
6. Play follow the leader practicing walking fast, slow, backwards and sideways.
7. Pretend to be a tight rope walker – Walk heel to toe along any line, try on your toes or your heels.
8. Try putting on your pants in standing – this is a real balance challenge to stand on one foot while putting the other leg in pants. Want to make it harder? Try putting socks on in standing without falling.
9. Walk along curbs or balance beams at the park.
10. Go on a hike searching out some logs or big rocks to climb.
Need More Balance Challenges?
The Box Balance Game encourages balance skills, motor planning, body awareness, eye foot coordination and right/left discrimination using some old boxes – watch the video below.
Challenge children’s balance skills with a game of Yoga Bingo. This Yoga Bingo digital download includes everything you need to play this fun filled movement game. There are 30 bingo boards so you can play with the entire class and 36 calling cards.
