Balloon Mania!!

 Dinoduo are back!!! Hankle and Roary have had a lovely break and now they are back with lots more fun movement ideas for the preschool child. Hope you all have been keeping busy and active.  The evenings are still dark and the weather is changeable.  Hankle and Roary share their favourite games to play with balloons, perfect for those wet afternoons or long evenings. Remember, balloons can pop so warn your child to prepare for the loud noise. Always pick up the torn balloon pieces.

Balloon Handball

Keep the balloon in the air by hitting it up with your hand. Count how many times you can hit it before the balloon hits the ground.

Balloon Kickball

Keep the balloon in the air by hitting it up with your foot. Count how many times you can hit it before the balloon hits the ground.

Balloon Batting

Use a small tennis racket or bat to keep the balloon in the air. Count how many times you can hit the balloon before it hits the ground.

Balloon Crawling race

Line up on hands and knees behind a line with a balloon in front of you.  Mark out a finishing line.   Ready, steady Go!! Use your head to push the balloon in front of you towards the finishing line. The winner is the first balloon to pass the finishing line.

You can also play this game by blowing the balloons across the floor.  Really good for developing core strength.

Balloon Body Bounce

Each player stands in a circle with a balloon. On “Go!!” everyone bounces their balloon into the air and the leader calls out a body part and the player hits the balloon trying to keep it in the air with that body part.   Hands, feet, head, back, Bum, knee, tummy. Lots and lots of giggles and fun.

To the Moon and the Stars

Hang a string across your room and from that string hang some balloons in a row  just out of  arms reach of your child ( “The Moon and the Stars”)

Starting at the beginning of the string, have your child cross the room, jumping up to bat “the Moon and the Stars”

Alternatively, you could have your child reach on tip toes to bat “the Moon and the Stars”

Balloon Volleyball

This game can be played in standing or in high knees. Divide your teams in two and separate the teams with a piece of string.  Mark out the boundaries of the playing pitch using tape or chalk. One player has a balloon. Each team tries to bat the balloon over the net. They can keep the balloon in the air a number of times before crossing the net. If the balloon hits the ground on either side within the pitch, then the opposing team gets a point. First team to 10 is the winner.

Musical Balloons

Place balloons in the middle of the floor, a balloon for each player. Put on the music and have the players march around.  When the music stops, each player must run to pick up a balloon before you have counted to “5”.  If you want to make it more competitive, reduce the number of balloons to one less than the number of players.

 

Balloon Dodge Ball

This is a fun game of tag that can be played indoors. The player who is “on” ( or the leader) has a balloon. All other players spread around an empty space. The player who is “on” (or the leader) tries to catch the other players by touching them with the balloon. They can throw, kick or reach out to the players with the balloon to “tag” them.  This game can be played walking, running, high keeling, tip toe walking  or crawling.

 

Don’t step on the Bomb!!

Place lots of balloons (The bombs)  in the middle of the room . Have your player/s walk around the room, making sure that they do not touch off the balloons. The faster they move the more the balloons will move around. The leader can shake up the balloons to give them more movement. This is another game that can be played walking, running, high keeling, tip toe or crawling.

So Dinoduo says , blow up those balloons and have some fun.

Copyright of Dinoduo 2019