How to Make an Obstacle Course for Preschoolers

An obstacle course made with regular household items will be easy for you to create, and fun for your preschoolers to maneuver. Running the obstable course is a great opportunity for kids to follow directions, develop their gross motor skills, and laugh!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A big, cleared room
• Masking tape
• Folding chairs
• Pillows
• A broomstick
• A pile of books
• A few blocks

How to Make an Obstacle Course for Preschoolers

1. Set up a pile of books in one corner of your space.

2. Place a broomstick (or another long stick) between two chairs in another corner. This station will function as a limbo station.

3. Place three or four blocks about a foot apart in a straight line.

4. Stick about a five-foot section of masking tape on the floor.

5. Set up a few small pillows about a foot apart in a straight line.

6. Explain to the children what the directions are as you demonstrate how to maneuver through the obstacle course yourself.
   
   1. Skip to the first station and walk around the pile of books three times.
   2. Gallop to the limbo station and go under the stick without touching it or the floor with your hands.
   3. Jump over each of the blocks on your way to the to the masking tape.
   4. Pretend that the masking tape is a balance beam and walk carefully on the tape without "falling" off.
   5. Crawl like a crab and weave your way in and out of each of the pillows.
   6. Walk like your favorite animal back to the starting place.

7. Give the kids a chance, one at a time, to follow the course.

Tips & Warnings

• If the kids tire of the course, challenge them to do it backwards.
• Ask the kids for suggestions of what else they can do on the way to each of the stations to make it more fun.
• Add as many extra stations as you have space for!

[RonUsher]

on 7/7/2008 Great ideas. It can be done outside as well.