Over, Under and Through Obstacle Room

Obstacles are spread across the whole gym and kids get past them following the teacher's call: over, under or through. They build coordination along with basic position words.

How to play

1. Spread out 6 obstacles around the gym: poles resting on cones at 8 and 16 inches, hoops standing up held by cones, a low bench, a mat and foam arches.
2. Kids scattered. Show the three words with your body: you go over a pole, under an arch and through a hoop (1 min).
3. First call: "Go over everything you find!" Kids walk around and step over each obstacle (2 min).
4. Tambourine and a new call: "Now go under!" They find ways to crawl or slither under (2 min).
5. Tambourine: "Through!" They go through the hoops and arch and lie down inside the mat area (2 min).
6. Now mix the calls every 30 seconds and add "Next to!" so they freeze beside an obstacle (3 min).
7. To finish, each child picks an obstacle and shows with their body how they got past it (2 min).

Rules

• If someone is using an obstacle, wait or find another one.
• Walk, don't run.
• Don't move the poles with your hands.
• When the tambourine sounds, listen for the new word.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: swap floor obstacles for ropes the child can go around or across in a wheelchair.
• Hearing impairment: each call has a picture card that you hold up at the same time.
• More skilled: get past without touching anything; less skilled: low obstacles only.

Learning goals

• Understand and use over, under and through.
• Adapt movement to the height of the obstacle.
• Move past obstacles safely among classmates.

Equipment for a class of 25

• poles: 4
• cones: 10
• hoops: 4
• benches: 1
• mats: 1
• foam arches: 2
• tambourine: 1

Teacher tip

Always say the word while doing the gesture. Make sure the poles just rest on the cones so they fall harmlessly if bumped.

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