Elementary school students between 5 to 12 years old are typically full of energy, and teachers need creative activities to channel their need for dynamic entertainment. From developing their motor skills to immersing them in science experiments, there are many learning activities that keep kids moving.
Activities to get kids moving in school
These activities for elementary school kids will keep them moving and boost their engagement in class:
- Science experiments
- Art projects
- Outdoor activities
- Kronos experience
- Dynamic learning activities
1. Science experiments
Science is the application and pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence. From biology and physics to computer science, the wonderful sponge-like brain of elementary school kids is at the perfect age to be introduced to scientific methodology. Objective observation by using measurement and collecting data are key elements of the scientific method and are learning activities that keep kids moving.
Here are some fun scientific activities to try:
- Research about a flower’s anatomy
- Colors’ magic
- Sink and float activity
- Magnetic force wonders
- Gravitational force-related activities
- Magical chemical reactions for preschoolers
- Changes in water states
- Making a model solar system
2. Art project
Have you ever considered why arts and craft activities are so beneficial to a child’s development? Through arts and crafts, elementary school students learn to value and appreciate artifacts and images across cultures while remaining active. Initiating students to reflect critically on their own work and those of others is a valuable skill. With art, kids learn to act and think like designers and artists, working intelligently and creatively.
Here are 4 elements that art projects help stimulate while keeping kids moving:
Self-esteem
Craft activities provide elementary school students a feeling of satisfaction and allow them to take pleasure in their work, which increases their self-esteem. Crafting new things is a beautiful way to learn that it’s normal to make errors, and those mistakes may lead kids to entirely new ideas if they keep practicing. Children can explore new activities while also honing their self-regulation abilities (e.g., developing patience while waiting for paint to dry). This aids in the development of a well-balanced character.
Creativity
Craft activities help children express themselves constructively, which will prove to be beneficial throughout their lives. Allowing children to express their emotions by doing something creative helps them better understand themselves. It also encourages children’s mental development by helping them to explore different ideas, methods of thinking, and problem-solving techniques.
Basic math concepts
Geometrical shapes and abstract concepts such as symmetry are all mathematical elements that are integral to aesthetics. Arts and craft activities can even be employed to teach mathematics! Students can be given equations to solve, with the result of each equation corresponding to a color they must use.
Motor skills
When children use craft materials, they refine their fine motor skills by using the tiny muscles in their hands. As children learn to use both hands simultaneously, their bilateral coordination strengthens. The more their fine motor skills grow, the more independent they become. Coloring, painting, and creating are all craft activities that do much more than just make kids move.
3. Outdoor activities
When the weather warms up in the spring, it’s the ideal time to get outdoors and play with your students! The outdoor activities below will allow you to have fun and get some exercise, but they will also reinforce the class synergy you’ve fostered in your classroom over the school year.
Outdoor activities encourage children to move in ways that test their muscles, coordination, balance, and agility. Getting some fresh air and movement is also the perfect opportunity to teach elementary school students the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
Here are outdoor activities and fun games to get kids moving:
- Tug of war
- Kick the can
- Hopscotch
- Football
- Capture the flag
- Fitness dice
- Red light, green light
- Monkey in the middle
Great end of year ideas for your students
4. Kronos experience
Bring your school’s classes together in an unforgettable futuristic and virtual competition! Kronos experience created a futuristic parallel universe filled with fascinating characters to promote healthy lifestyle habits among 5 to 12-year-olds.
This fantastic, technological universe, both funny and realistic, leads to curiosity and mobilization around the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. The concept is rather simple. In a future not so far away, humanity is facing serious problems. Physical inactivity and unhealthy lifestyles are compromising both human health and survival.
Thanks to the efforts of the space-time Kronos agency, the situation is improving. Its agents have gone back in time several times to influence the behavior of young people through pedagogical shows offered in elementary schools. This time, the agency is using virtual methods to save humanity, making its interventions more accessible than ever to schools around the world.
5. Dynamic learning activities
Dynamic learning doesn’t happen by chance, teachers have to purposefully plan experiences for elementary school kids that are aligned with the learning goals of the day, and integrate strategies that push beyond the bounds of traditional learning.
Dynamic learning differs from traditional learning as it is characterized by constant change and creative activities. Growing and evolving through more unconventional means, this learning takes place organically with the learner collaborating, creating, and communicating to demonstrate progress and mastery. Dynamic learning extends beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom and school day.
One way that teachers can practice dynamic learning is when the classroom is no longer receptive to new information, or when energy levels are low. A little jumping jack quiz can liven up elementary school students. This indoor activity consists of having students do jumping jacks (at their own pace) until they are asked a question by the teacher. This atypical way of testing crystallizes information and gets the blood flowing!
An additional activity that incentivizes students to pay attention is the promise of a short dance party at the end of the day. This party doesn’t have to be longer than 5 minutes before the bell, and it will end the day on a positive note.
Overview
If you want your kids to be interested in learning, make it creative and fun! Try to encourage them to play indoor and outdoor games and participate in extracurricular activities. These are all initiatives that get kids moving. Games and physical activity are great to improve engagement, and they also develop the motor skills of students.
The youth experience offered by Kronos is an easy way to get 5 to 12-years-old active in no time. There comes a time during the school year when classroom participation is low and the morale of the classroom needs to be picked up by a well-orchestrated initiative. The enthusiastic animators of Kronos are there to get your students moving and engaged!