Here are four of our favourite gymnastics warm-up ideas for primary school teachers and sports coaches.
Animals: Encourage children to channel their inner creatures as they move around the space using different animal-inspired movements.
- Explore various speeds, heights, and body positions.
This engaging warm-up seamlessly ties into gymnastics themes like Travel, Flight, and Balances. By letting their imaginations run wild, children not only warm up their bodies but also ignite their creativity.
Alphabet: Encourage children to use their bodies to form different letters, promoting flexibility, balance, and motor skills. This warm-up is an excellent tool to reinforce Shapes and Balance concepts, enhancing children's body awareness and coordination.
- Can you spell your name?
- Can you spell the Alphabet?
- Can you guess your partners word?
- Can the group make a word?
Beans: Invite children to transform into various beans—runner beans, jumping beans, and beyond. This versatile warm-up is suitable for a wide range of gymnastics topics, providing a dynamic start to each session.
- Baked Bean (Tuck shape)
- Runner Bean (Running safely in the area)
- Jumping bean (Flight and landings)
- Hopping bean (Hopping)
- Green bean (Straight shape)
- Broad Bean (Large shape)
Follow the Leader: Divide children into small groups and designate a leader for each round. As the leader, children decide how their group moves around, allowing them to take ownership of their warm-up experience. Rotate the leader so that every child gets to have a chance as a leader. Encourage the leader to:
- Use different ways to travel
- Different shapes
- Different levels
- Be creative!
To Summarise
As primary school teachers and coaches, you have the power to shape young minds through engaging and enriching gymnastics experiences. The Animals, Alphabet, Beans, and Follow the Leader warm-up games are just a glimpse of the exciting activities our uSports online course has to offer. Sign up for the uSports course today and unlock a world of gymnastics! https://www.u-sports.co.uk/online-gymnastics-course