There are many reasons a young child becomes upset while at preschool. For example, they may miss their parents,
Children of all ages need physical activity and a sports day is the perfect way to teach your students new games and emphasize the importance of physical health.
When planning a sports day, consider the space you have available. For example, if you have access to an outdoor space, have a “rain date” in case of inclement or too-hot weather, or plan to move it to a larger multipurpose room or gym.
Inform parents of when sports day will be and ask for volunteers. Parents can volunteer anything from snacks and water bottles to coming in and helping you run your sports day.
Encourage your students to wear comfortable clothing, preferably something from their favorite team or sport.
Lastly, consider your student’s skill levels and interests when choosing activities and include various team games.
Game Ideas
1. Relay Race
Kids love relay races, which are a great way to promote teamwork. There are so many different types of relay races you could include more than one in your sports day.
The most straightforward option is to have a baton or object the team members pass to one another after completing their lap. To make the race more challenging, you make it, so they have to hop or bear crawl on their hands or feet.
Another relay race option that kids love is a dress-up race. Using an oversized sports jersey and hat, each member has to put the clothing on before completing their lap, come back, take the items off, and pass it to the next member, who then repeats until everyone has had a turn.
2. Water Balloon Toss
A water balloon toss is guaranteed to please if you have an outdoor space, and it will be a warm day. Pair the children up and have them stand facing each other only a few paces apart. Everyone tosses the water balloon to their partner simultaneously, then takes a step back. With each successful toss and catch, pairs move another step apart. As water balloons pop, pairs are eliminated until you have a winner!
3. Parachute Games
Parachute games are so much fun and provide a cool breeze on a warm day. If you have enough adults, allow the children to go under the parachute while you flap it up and down. Call students out by what color they’re wearing, the first letter of their name, or funny things like, “If you love pizza with pineapple, go under the parachute!”.
4. Football Goals
A soccer goal challenge is easy to complete with a net or two cones and a ball. Not only does soccer work on children’s foot-eye coordination and gross motor skills, but it is a game most are familiar with and already know how to play.
To make it a competition, split the class into two groups, and the team that scores the most goals wins the round.
5. Frisbee Toss
Frisbee tossing is fun and easy to set up. You can create goals, a line the children have to toss the frisbee over, or several marking points worth different points. Like the soccer challenge, you can create teams or make this one a solo competition.
6. Group Yoga
A group yoga session is a great way to end your sports day. There are many free kid-centric yoga videos available online, or you can simply practice a few familiar poses together to stretch out the muscles and relax.
The most important thing about a sports day is that your students have fun and work on developing their gross motor and team-building skills!
become frightened or injured, have a disagreement with a friend, or feel sick, tired, or overstimulated.
A gentle touch, verbal reassurance, and your presence are sometimes all that is needed to soothe a child when they’re upset. However, when that doesn’t work, there are some additional tricks and tools you can use to help soothe an upset child.
Discover What’s Wrong
The first step in helping a child is discovering the cause of them being upset. If you observe what happened, such as a fall on the playground or a disagreement with a friend, you already know why they’re feeling stressed. However, if a child is crying or upset with no known visible cause, you will have to do a bit of investigating.
The best course of action is to ask the child what happened. This way, you leave the answer open without planting ideas in their head. Children want to please, so if you say things like, “Are you hurt?” or “Are you sad?” they are likely to say yes because they think that’s what you want to hear.
If a child is hurt or sick, you can ask them to show or tell you where it hurts, do a visual check for any signs of injury, and take their temperature if you suspect a fever.
Validate Their Feelings
It is vital to validate a young child’s feelings. So often, to adults, a child’s big emotions seem irrational or over the top, but to a young child, their feelings are genuine and often overwhelming. So while a teacher’s job involves helping children learn how to process big emotions, you must also show them their feelings, however big, are valid.
Simple statements like “You’re very angry right now” or “It’s ok to feel sad” help a child understand what they’re feeling and that their feelings are ok.
Read A Story
Stories have calming powers and can help children understand or process big emotions. Teachers should include books about families, friendships, emotions, and various social stories on the classroom bookshelf and in the quiet and cozy area.
Provide A Quiet & Calm Spot
Preschool classrooms are busy places, so teachers should create a cozy and quiet corner where children can go to relax when overstimulated or go to calm down when upset. The area should include a soft spot to sit, like oversized cushions, stuffed animals, and books. A unique touch is to include a class book created using photos of the children’s families.
Play Music
Music is scientifically proven to elevate one’s mood and can calm us when emotionally upset. Of course, calming music in the classroom while children are playing is always a good idea, but it is also beneficial when children are upset or over-excited. Likewise, dancing can help children act out strong emotions through action.
Provide Sensory Toys
Little hands sometimes need to interact with sensory stimulating toys to help calm nerves or upset feelings. Fidgets like squishy balls, bendy tubes, fidget spinners, texturized items, pop-its, and liquid timers appeal to children and have a calming effect. Keep a bucket of sensory toys in the classroom to pass out as needed.
Physical Activity
Physical activity is another way to calm emotions. Yoga, dancing, and playing outside are beneficial when little emotions run strong. Yoga is excel
