Walking on the Squishy Mattress

Children walk, hop and drop to a seat along a path of thick and thin mats that sink under their feet. The soft ground wakes up balance and gets the body ready for the jumps and falls in the session.

How to play

1. We lay the mats in a row, alternating thick and thin, like a path of clouds (1 min).
2. We walk barefoot along it, noticing where it sinks a lot and where it sinks a little (1 min).
3. We walk on tiptoe, on our heels and like elephants stomping hard (1 min).
4. We hop with feet together on the thick mats and, at the end, drop down to sit (2 min).
5. We lie on our favorite mat and feel how it holds us up (1 min).

Rules

• We go one after another, leaving a gap.
• If the child in front falls, we wait for them to get up.
• We always drop down on our bottoms, never head first.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child crawls or scoots along the path, or is gently rolled across the mats.
• Autism: if the wobbly surface is unsettling, start with only the thin mats.
• Visual impairment: the child holds the teacher's hand and gets a heads-up before each change of mat.

Learning goals

• Wake up balance on soft surfaces.
• Feel differences in the ground through the feet.
• Practice safe falls by dropping to a seat.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Thick mats: 4
• Thin mats: 4

Teacher tip

Push the mats tightly together so no gaps open between them. Tell children that falling is part of the game here; it takes away the fear and makes them laugh.

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