Say Hi to the Bench with Your Knee

Kids walk and jog among gym benches spread around the room, and when the drum stops they greet the nearest bench by touching it with the body part the teacher names. It warms up the body, names body parts and helps kids feel at ease with the bench.

How to play

1. The teacher spreads out four benches and introduces our "bench friends": we touch them with our hands and say good morning (1 min).
2. We walk among the benches to the drum; when it stops, we greet a bench with a hand or a foot (1 min).
3. Now we jog gently and greet with new parts: a knee, an elbow, our tummy, or our bottom by sitting on it (2 min).
4. We greet with two parts at once: hand and knee, bottom and feet (1 min).
5. Last hello: we all sit on a bench, take a big breath and thank each other for playing (1 min).

Rules

• While the drum plays, we move without touching the benches.
• When it stops, we find a bench with room, no pushing.
• We greet the bench gently, no bumping.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a child in a wheelchair rolls up and touches the bench with any part they can; touching it with a hand always counts.
• Autism: give the child their own bench to always go back to, and preview with a body-parts picture card.
• Hearing impairment: the teacher raises a hand to show "stop" and points to the body part on their own body.

Learning goals

• Warm up the body gradually at the start of the session.
• Name and locate body parts.
• Get comfortable with the gym bench as play equipment.

Equipment for a class of 25

• banco sueco: 4
• pandero: 1

Teacher tip

Keep benches away from walls with wide aisles between them. The usual mix-up is everyone racing to the same bench, so say up front: "Any bench with room is fine."

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