Magical Castle

Horse’s Tails

Let’s pretend to play in a magical castle. For the warm-up we are going to play Horse’s Tails.

Tuck a scarf or a long sock into your shorts like a tail and as you run around try to steal each-other’s tails.

Each time move in a different way like galloping, jumping or on hands and feet.

Magic Jewels

Place lots of balls, teddy bears, sock balls in a pile or in a hoop – pretend these are the jewels. The challenge is to get all the jewels from one side of the castle to the other by rolling or throwing them.

Create some magic stepping-stones using tea towels or hoops. Stand on a stepping-stone each and roll or throw the ball to your child and then move to the next stepping-stone to receive it again. The aim is to move all the jewels from one side of the castle to the other the other.

Encourage your child to keep their eyes on the ball or teddy. Look at the Footie Families parent booklet pages for tips!

Download a PDF to help you teach your child to catch a ball here.

Royal Dribbling Relay

The aim is to dribble the ball around the towers which can be made from cones, tins or upside-down cups. See if you can get from one side of the castle to the other, dribbling around all the towers.

Encourage gentle touches on the ball so the ball stays under control and close to feet. You can deflate the ball or use a cube which is easier to control.

Download a PDF to help you teach your child to kick a ball here.

Castle Obstacles

With your child, set up some fun challenges like balancing on the drawbridge, swimming in the moat, throwing jewels, dribbling round towers or balancing over cushions. You could place a teddy bear on a chair at the end of the obstacle course to save at the end.

Encourage travelling in variety of ways and challenge your child by moving equipment if it is too easy.