Paper Plate Activities – Let’s Get Moving
As pediatric therapists, we are always on the lookout for lightweight, compact movement ideas. Here are 3 simple paper plate activities: ninja moves, paper plate ice skating and paper plate yoga. These are not your traditional paper plate crafts since they require the kids to participate in physical activity, motor planning and fun!
Need to move from classroom to classroom? Travel into the home? These physical activities for kids are fun and when you are done simply stack the paper plates on top of each other and put in your bag! They even work for telehealth since many have paper plates in their own homes!
Paper Plate Activity #1 – Spinners
I bought some 4″ snap spinners from Amazon for a few dollars for 8 of them. I printed the Ninja Clothes Pin freebie for this paper plate spinner. The circle picture fit well inside this regular sized paper plate. Poke a small hole in the middle with a pen, pop the spinner in and snap it together. Now the Ninja game is ready to play. Spin the spinner and see if you can copy the ninja action move. This activity encourages physical activity, balance skills and motor planning.
I made a second one with the Sun Salutation circle from the Yoga Cards and Games packet. This will allow children to practice each pose individually before putting the entire sequence together.
If you do not have purchased spinnes, you can use a large paper clip with a pencil in the middle, and spin the paper clip.
Paper Plate Activity #2 – Paper Plate Ice Skating
This is an oldie but a goodie and SO easy. Just toss two paper plates on the floor and have the child practice ice skating. You do need a carpeted surface for it work better. This activity encourages muscle strengthening in the hips and legs and balance skills. In addition, it can be very challenging for bilateral coordination skills and motor planning. Children need to provide just the right amount of pressure to slide the ice skating plates.
Paper Plate Activities – Exercise Plates
Using the small cards from the Yoga Cards and Games packet, I cut out the cards and glued one on per paper plate. If you do not have the Yoga Cards, you can cut out pictures from magazines of people exercising or have children draw stick figures.
Create a set so that if you are working in a group, each child will have a paper plate.
Ways to Use the Exercise Activities on Paper Plates
There are several ways you can use the Exercise Plates:
- Perform the exercise on the plate. Throw the plate like a frisbee. Retrieve a new exercise frisbee, not the one you just threw. Perform the exercise. Repeat until the children have practiced several exercises.
- Musical Plates – Using one plate to start, turn on some music and pass it around a circle of children. When the music stops, whoever is holding the plate, demonstrates the exercise and the rest of the group then performs the exercise too. Turn back on the music and continue playing. Add in more than one exercise plate to pass around the circle.
- Exercise for Dinner – Set a table or large desk with the exercise plates. The children walk around the table with the music playing. When the music stops, the children freeze in front of an exercise plate. Perform that exercise. Turn the music back on and repeat.
More Super Easy Physical Activities for Kids
Exercises for the Classroom and Home is a set of 5 posters to encourage simple fitness activities for students. This is available as a digital download OR printed posters.
