….roll the ball with their foot?

Can your kid: control a quick stop from a run?

As a preschooler develops their ability to walk and run, they also begin to understand and demonstrate the skills needed to stop and start. This develops the skills kids need to manage their bodies while in motion.

In this post, I suggest that you follow a really simple format of practice to give the child the pattern of following directions. Build into this session are a few lessons on safety in moving and developing care in using a start and finish position for physical education lessons.

Lots of sports activity demand awareness of object avoidance as well as maneuvering while in motion.

Preschoolers play

The ability to bring a active run to a stop requires strength in a child's legs and body. Most often a youngster will accelerate to their fullest speed and then decelerate to stopping on a dime!

The demands of stopping include:

  • the strength to keep shoulders even, no tipping to a side
  • the leg strength to bend at the knee and yet maintain a stand
  • the visual awareness to avoid contacting another person or an object

Practice times, to bring your child some skills as well as provide active play:

  1. Mark a START line and a FINISH line in a safe area.
  2. Explain that you will say:  ready! set! GO! to begin the action.
  3. Require that all running goes from start place to finish spot:  no reversing line of travel.
  4. Have child place their toes behind the START line.
  5. SAY: Ready, Set, GO. Add the drop of your arm to give an added visual cue for the child.

Make a race of this practice time with another child. Just make certain the children run, side-by-side: with no touching between children.

Repeat as enjoyed!