Body Awareness Activities

[Alesia]

These are some of the activities that I am trying in my class of 2 and 3 year olds. I am sure that I will come up with more ideas later. I hope this will help someone.

* Body tracing
* Hand prints ( in paint and with play dough)
* Foot prints ( in paint and with play dough)
* Food tasting
* Drawing faces ( children will use mirrors to look at their own faces)
* Body parts book or poster

[Boxcar]

I'm doing something similar. I'm going to do week on bodies and health. Your ideas are great. I'm using DiscountSchoolSupplies to get a model of the body and some human x-rays. I'll have the children do an obstacle course to exercise thier muscles. We'll also do things like look at our hands under magnifiers, do sensory activities, and dress for hot and cold. I'm also including some of the things you mentioned.

[nytoddlerteacher]

These are some of the activities that I am trying in my class of 2 and 3 year olds. I am sure that I will come up with more ideas later. I hope this will help someone.

* Body tracing
* Hand prints ( in paint and with play dough)
* Foot prints ( in paint and with play dough)
* Food tasting
* Drawing faces ( children will use mirrors to look at their own faces)
* Body parts book or poster

Those are great ideas! Thank you. :clap:

[Brit]

dude...x-rays would be cool!

[Boxcar]

You can get a pack of eighteen from DiscountSchoolSupply. Unfortuately, hospitals won't donate because of confidentiality, so this is another way to get them.

[Ebeth]

How much do they cost?

[JJones]

Hi,
This is my first post. I am a pre-service teacher and as part of our art subject we have been asked to join an art forum.

I really like your ideas. I work with prep children aged 4 to 6 years. In the past when we have explored body awareness, we have invited parents that are nurses or doctors into the class to talk to the children. We ask parents to send in x-rays for display in the class. One year, we gave the children some clear laminate squares and they drew from observation their bones. We then put them on the overhead projector, they loved to see their creations on the wall in a much larger scale. Another student I know has used lollies for body parts, e.g jelly beans for kidneys, snakes for the brain etc.. then the students got to enjoy eating them after they were positioned on the body shape.
Thanks for reading my post, this is a great place to share ideas.

[Josephil]

I don't know if it would also be useful in your class but I have tried this Art and body awareness activity in my ESL class before. My students enjoyed the activity while they were unconsciously learning as well.

I asked my students to draw somebody in the classroom they want to draw (including me) and then the rest of the class identified the person in their drawing as they presented their works. Some drawings were very obvious because of the eyeglasses and other accesories they included in their drawing. What I like in the said activity is that the students could fine relationship between the drawing and the real person, thus, encouraging them to think. Aside from that, creative thinking can also be enhance in such activity for some students tend to reason out why they included other accesories in their drawing.

[Brit]

anything out there for spatial awareness? I have a kid who bumps into EVERYTHING all the time!!!

[Alesia]

anything out there for spatial awareness? I have a kid who bumps into EVERYTHING all the time!!!

How old is the child? I have never done this before, but maybe you could use a flashlight and have him try to follow the light where you take it around the classroom. You could also tape feet to the floor and make a path for the children to follow.

[Melissa_R]

There are some really great ideas to promote body awareness here. I think it also a valuable way to promote diversity of through comparing height, hair colour, eye shape, etc.

I have done an activity with a group of 5 year olds where they are placed in pairs to trace around each others bodies on butchers paper as they lie down or stand up. They then draw their own faces, fingers, and toes. Using an example they then draw where their heart, lungs, stomachs, and brains are. The children really enjoyed this activity and it makes for a great display as well.

Melissa

[priyaanka]

hi!
Learning of all types will be late until a child has developed a sensible concept of body image.
• Exercises raise body awareness and thus improve body image. Use balance beams, balance boards, ropes, hopping, chinning bars, swinging, skipping, rolling, jumping-jacks, etc.
• Make up fun activities like Simon Says to practice body awareness and image. Make them creative and don't afraid to be "silly" with movements. Be sure to slot in verbal skills along with pointing and touching. Have a mirror handy so that the child has plenty of opportunity to see himself performing different activities, or just to look at himself. Have him draw self portraits and portraits of others.:waving:

[darlin77]

I did a fun body awareness activity with my class. We talked about the heart being a muscle and pumping blood and needing exercise like our other muscles. Then I showed them how to feel their heart beating in their neck. I had them feel how slow it was beating, then we did jumping jacks for 1 minute and I had them stop and feel again how fast it was beating. We did other exercises like running in place, jumping, hopping, etc.

I also had a nurse come with a stethoscope so the kids could hear their heart beats also.

[salmanandani]

great idea, i will try it. thanks dear