Instructions
‘Crawling Soldiers’ is a Body Schooling Activity that involves crawling on the tummy with arms and legs working in opposition – the arms should be pulling and the legs pushing.
- Lie on tummy
- Crawl on tummy by pulling on arms and pushing on legs, with arms and legs working in opposition to one another
- Keep ‘Angry Cat’ shoulders
- May need to rock to get the action started
- Move forward in a straight line
Safety
Ensure…
- the surface is free from sharp objects
- that time spent crawling is kept to a minimum to reduce friction burns
- children can crawl on a matted surface if they find the floor uncomfortable
Opportunity to develop
- Co-ordination
- Control
- Spatial awareness
- Upper body strength
- Body awareness
Physical Development Area of Learning
- contributes to ‘Personal’ and ‘Adventurous and physical play’ skills sections
If you see
| Observation | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Child off the ground | Difficulty co-ordinating leg and arm action | Practise standing up |
| Child using arm action only and dragging legs | Poor timing | Slow action down and perform one step at a time |
| Child does not move forward | Not gaining distance with arms and legs | Practise a low extended crawl |
Can you see?
- the child’s arms and legs working in opposition?
- the child with ‘Angry Cat’ shoulders?
- the child keeping along a straight narrow path?
- the child ‘pulling’ with the arms and pushing with the legs?
- the child keeping low to the ground?
-
Mostly No
- Practise action standing up – ‘Climb the Rigging’
- Lie on tummy and use legs only
- Practise ‘Angry Cat’
- Practitioner helps by gently pushing legs
-
Yes and No
- Crawl along a path
- Crawl through objects such as tunnels, hoops, boxes, trestle tables
- Increase the distance, vary the course
- Crawl at different speeds
- Crawl around the room balancing a bean bag on back
-
Mostly Yes
- Crawl along planks and benches
- Crawl in different directions
- Crawl under low bridge or net
- Crawl under partner performing an ‘Angry Cat’ – ‘Ships and Bridges’ and ‘Trains and Tunnels’
-
Challenge
- Crawling Soldier under a parachute
- Crawling Soldier with eyes shut
- Crawling Soldier in different directions and at different speeds, then in response to a range of cues