Fun circuit play for 4-year-olds: physical activities using balance beams, mats, and more.
By the time children are four years old, they can control their walking and running speed on their own and are able to perform more complex body movements such as skipping and hopping on one foot.
Many teachers may be thinking about incorporating activities that let children move their bodies to the fullest during this period of significant motor development.
So this time, we’re introducing circuit play ideas recommended for four-year-olds.
From activities that use equipment like horizontal bars, vaulting boxes, and mats to those that let children move while enjoying an imaginative world—pretending to be animals or avoiding “dangers”—we’ve gathered circuit play ideas perfectly suited to the development of four-year-olds!
These activities can be enjoyed both indoors and outdoors, so please use them as a reference.
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Fun circuit play for 4-year-olds: movement activities using a balance beam, mats, and more (1–10)
balance beam
The balance beam is known as a piece of equipment used for exercises that involve moving forward while maintaining balance or striking poses.
When it’s used at a kindergarten sports day, it’s recommended to incorporate it with some creative variations.
In addition to walking straight across it, you can also use it as an obstacle to jump over while facing sideways.
Set a number of jumps to complete, and allow children to move on once they meet the target.
Be sure to prepare a beam that’s as low as possible to ensure safety.
This is an event that can be done even in a limited space, so be sure to give it a try.
hopscotch
Kenpa is a game that has been played since long ago, but nowadays many children may have never tried it, partly because it’s considered dangerous to play in the street.
However, this game is said to improve physical abilities: it strengthens the legs and hips, trains the core, develops the ability to switch between standing on one foot and on both feet, and cultivates a sense of rhythm—making it a highly recommended exercise.
It’s easy to set up by linking or drawing rings, drawing squares with chalk, or scoring them with a stick on a playground.
Give it a try and have fun!
Can you jump? Danger zone!
Kids love thrilling play, don’t they? If you add “danger zones” and turn your circuit play into a full-on, thrilling story, it’ll get even more exciting than usual.
For example, try placing illustrations of sharks between the obstacles.
If you say things like, “Let’s hop from island to island!” or “Watch out—there’s a shark!” they’ll get excited and move their bodies in big, energetic ways.
You could also read a picture book beforehand that features something scary and use those characters in your play!
Fun circuit play for 4-year-olds: motor activities using balance beams, mats, and more (11–20)
Advance to fit the shape and jump!
If you place sheets of paper with footprint illustrations, they’ll create an eye-catching, friendly circuit for kids to play on barefoot.
By stepping along to match the left and right feet in the illustrations, it becomes like a hopscotch-style game and can help improve motor skills.
Lately, more children are having trouble hopping well, so it’s a good idea to include plenty of single-leg steps on purpose.
Of course, feel free to adjust it for your class or combine it with other items.
Be sure to stick the paper down securely so feet won’t slip!
Net crawl-through
Crawling through a net fixed to the floor is a perfect circuit activity for strengthening the legs and hips! Adults can probably imagine how tough belly crawling can be.
Kids, being lighter, might seem like they can do it better, but it’s still a full-body workout.
If you move while holding a ball or pull something along as you go, the difficulty increases because you also have to watch that the items don’t get caught in the net.
Milk carton balance beam
This is a circuit play activity where you line up many milk cartons and walk across them.
To keep the cartons from being crushed when stepped on, get creative by stuffing them with folded milk cartons or filling them with sand.
Lay them out in a single row, and occasionally stack them in two layers to create the course.
Have the children walk on top and aim for the goal.
It feels like tackling a maze or a dungeon, so the kids are sure to love it.
horizontal bar
There are many different bar tricks, so when exercising on the horizontal bar, don’t limit yourself by deciding, for example, to do just one forward roll.
Try to freely enjoy a variety of skills.
By watching what others are doing, you can expand your own repertoire and may even come up with new moves.
There are also lesser-known skills such as the “swallow” and the “futon-drying” pose, so it might be good for parents or teachers to occasionally explain techniques that children don’t know.
In any case, the important thing is to become friendly with the bar and to feel like trying all sorts of things.