Top Fitness Activities For Elementary Students

To make it, even more, engaging for the students, you can add some music so that they can do the different movements to the beat of the song. Maybe even come up with their own routine that includes a couple, if not all of the movements. Below are some exciting and fun fitness games for kids to choose from.

Fast Clap

This easy fitness activity will challenge students to improve coordination and develop quick reflexes. To get started, get the students to clap their hands in the usual position they would use to clap for a performance on stage, right in front of their bodies, for about 30 seconds.

Then get them to clap above their heads, behind their backs all for about 30 seconds each, and ask them to explain which muscles were used to do each movement.

Act Out Stories 

If you’re looking for physical education activities for kids you can play the act out stories game. It does not matter what class you teach, you can get your students to act out actual stories, poems, scientific or mathematical concepts, and even historical and cultural movements.

With this, you would first choose or create a story and explain to the students that they would not use any words to act it out but would need to use the movements in the story or concept. These movements would include actions like running on the spot, pretending to swim, throw a ball or any other relevant action that may be required to explain the story to the rest of the class or do the actions while you read the story to them.

Fitness Activities for Elementary students to do on the playground or in a gym

For these types of elementary fitness activities, a little more space than a classroom may be required for it to be a success. These activities will be a success as outdoor activities or as fun gym activities for elementary students.

Red light, green light

Play the red light, green light game on the playground or in the gym, and help students exercise and learn to follow instructions by helping them to pause, think, and make a decision before reacting. Although it is not necessary you can add color visuals by making a red, yellow, and green sign which will also help students learn a little about color as well.

How to Play:

• Line your group of elementary students along a horizontal straight line across from you, the starting line.
• If you shout the words ‘Green Light’ everyone must start to move slowly towards you, the finish line.
• If you shout the words ‘Red Light’ everyone must immediately stop and freeze in the position that they are in
• If you say “Yellow Light”, they must all go in slow motion
• You can start a new round when everyone gets across the finish line or when most of the students have crossed the finish line.

Skipping Games

Skipping games are more than just a game, they are a great exercise that helps improve a student’s muscular strength and endurance, bone density, and reflexes. Skipping games help build character, friendships, they conquer shyness and inspire creativity. A few examples of skipping games are:

Rock the Baby

Two students will hold the rope, one on each side and rock it side to side, without it being turned. Another student will then jump the rope in between the two students two times before they can exit the rope. The next student will have their turn, then the next until all the students have had a turn. 

They will then skip again but this time the rope will be raised a little higher and every time a student misses a jump they will be out. This will carry on will each round the rope will get higher until there is only one student left.

Cat and Mouse

The purpose of cat and mouse is to get students to move through the rope, jumping, and tagging as fast as possible. Each player must run around one of the students holding the rope, then they will jump the rope in the middle and around the other student holding the rope on the other side while forming a figure eight as they go. The mouse will jump the rope without getting tagged and the cat will jump and tag the mouse.

Jump Rope Challenge

Divide the students into groups to form a team to compete against each other. Each team of jumpers will need to work together to figure out how to get the most jumps.

Hop Scotch Math or Spelling

One of the super fun physical education activities for kids is this hopscotch maths or spelling game. You draw sets of hopscotch grids with chalk on some paving in the schoolyard. You can either use numbers to answer a math problem or letters to spell the word out. Let each student hop through the grid and answer the question with each hop.

Octopus

Another favorite fitness activity for elementary students to perform on a playground or in the school gym is the game of octopus. With this game, you will have two boundaries, one on one side and another on the opposite side with the octopus in the middle. Choose one student to be the octopus and let them stand in the middle of the game area with their arms and legs extended out.

The other students will start off by lining up in a horizontal line on one side and when the octopus shouts out the word “Octopus”, all other students must then run towards the octopus and try to get to the opposite side without being tagged or caught.

The students that are caught will become “seaweed” and will be the octopus’s helpers by sitting on the ground with their arms and legs stretched out and will help the octopus tag or catch the remaining students.

If you are a parent/guardians or teacher looking for physical fitness activities for elementary students that will get the blood pumping again, relieve boredom, reduce tension and increase your students’ level of alertness, think of quick games or activities that will keep the students focused on the fun and they will not notice that they are actually working out.