Feet Say Hi to the Balls

With lots of balls spread across the floor, children walk among them and, when the drum stops, say hi to a ball by touching it with the part of the foot the teacher names. It warms up the body and introduces the parts of the foot they’ll use to play with the ball.

How to play

1. The teacher scatters the balls and shows the parts of the foot by touching them: toes, heel, sole, and the inside of the foot (1 min).
2. Everyone walks between the balls without touching them while the drum plays, looking where they are (1 min).
3. The drum stops and the teacher says “Hi with your toes!”: each child finds a ball and gently taps it with the toes (1 min).
4. Keep going with heel, sole, and inside of the foot, picking a different ball each time (2 min).
5. Last round: walk like giants and say hi to a ball with the foot the teacher lifts up (1 min).

Rules

• While the drum plays, we don’t touch the balls.
• We say hi with a tiny tap, not a kick.
• If a friend is already at a ball, I find another one.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a child using a wheelchair or walker greets the ball with a hand or whichever foot they can move, and an adult brings the ball closer.
• Hearing impairment: along with the drum, the teacher holds up a card showing the part of the foot.
• Autism: keep one ball in a fixed spot for that child near a hoop and give a hand signal before each change.

Learning goals

• Warm up by walking and stopping on a signal.
• Identify toes, heel, sole, and inside of the foot.
• Touch an object accurately while watching the foot.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Soft balls: 25
• Hand drum: 1

Teacher tip

Put out more balls than children so nobody argues over one. The usual mistake is kicking instead of saying hi: model a big, slow, exaggerated tap.

More activities like this

More warm-ups for Elementary