The Forward-and-Backward Course

Children go through a four-station course in order and then do it backwards, starting with the last station. It works on what comes before and after along a route, plus basic skills (jumping, balance, rolling, zigzagging).

How to play

1. Set up the course in a line with a start sign and an end sign: hoops to jump into, bench to walk along, mat to roll on and cones to zigzag through (2 min).
2. Walk through it with the teacher, naming: first the hoops, next the bench, then the mat and last the cones (2 min).
3. Forward course: go one at a time with small gaps, several times (4 min).
4. Ask: if we start at the end, what comes first? Walk through it backwards (2 min).
5. Backward course: cones, mat, bench and hoops, several times (4 min).
6. Sit at the end and remember the order of both courses (1 min).

Rules

• I wait until the child ahead finishes the first station.
• I do the stations in order without skipping.
• On the bench, a grown-up is close by.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: each station has an option (go beside the hoops, travel along the bench touching it, roll a ball across the mat).
• Visual impairment: a buddy guides by the hand and each station has a sound cue.
• Autism: a picture strip of the course at the start, flipped around for the backward course.

Learning goals

• Complete a course in order and in reverse.
• Use before and after along a route.
• Practice jumping, balance, rolling and zigzagging.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Hoops: 4
• Low gym bench: 1
• Mats: 2
• Cones: 6
• Rope: 1

Teacher tip

The bench must be low with a mat beside it and an adult next to it the whole time. On the backward course kids tend to start at the hoops out of habit, so move the start sign to the other end.

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