Mustard Seed Preschool

What is big body play and why is it an important part of the preschool experience at MSP?

BBP involves using many muscles to run, hop, wrestle and chase.  It can also involve screaming, shouting, and lots of laughter.  Some examples of big body play are:

• Climbing a tree

• Jumping off play equipment or furniture

• Playing tag

• Wrestling with friends

• Play fighting

Big body play comes naturally to children but is often discouraged by adults.  Usually this is because of the fear of a child getting hurt, or the liability of hurting another child. We can help structure this unstructured time so that everyone is safe and all students understand the boundaries and limitations of big body play!

What do children learn from BBP?

Physically: How to use their growing muscles and limbs while developing an understanding of their physical limits.

Socially: How to communicate with other children, the importance of being gentle, and how to take turns or share.

Emotionally: Empathy for other people’s feelings and the ability to interpret verbal and nonverbal cues.

Children who regularly engage in supervised BBP exercise release energy and are then able to calm down and focus on learning. The benefits far outweigh the risks of allowing your students to be loud and rowdy at least once a day.

BBP Myths 101

1. Big body play leads to fighting

   • Research demonstrates in reality, less than 1% of this kind of play actually leads to fighting.  When it does, it’s often a child or children who have not learned to read social cues and body signals (Carlson, 2009).   

   • During BBP, children will laugh, run, jump, tag, chase, and flee. Children’s expressions are often smiling.  Children are involved as willing participants.  Children will keep returning for more play.

   • When children are fighting, they hit, push, grab, frown, or cry. Their expressions are sad or scared and as soon as it settles, the unwilling participant runs away (Carlson, 2016).

2. Only boys need it, not girls

• Though big body play among girls may look different, research suggests girls who participate in BBP are more likely to be assertive, confident, and outgoing.

How do the teachers at MSP help to keep their students safe during BBP?

Supervision is essential!

• One teacher needs to be fully dedicated to leading the BBP activity.

Ground rules will need to be set by the adult

• No neck grabs while wrestling

• No jumping off objects that are taller than you

• Listening for the word “STOP” from peers

• Checking on everyone before starting again

Safe Environments are Key

• Indoors – move large furniture pieces away and add mats for children to climb over and roll across.

• Outdoors – provide climbing structures with proper ground coverage.

Ways We Implement Big Body Play

Crash Mats: Fold up a tumbling mat and stand it on end. One at a time children run as fast as they can and slam their bodies into the mat, knocking it to the ground with a terrific bang! To add some variation, you can call out body parts (“Hit it with your elbow!”) or styles (“Run backwards!”).

Tiger Stripe Races: Grab two different colors of washi tape and find yourself a nice open place to sit. Any child who runs all the way around, say, the whole climbing structure gets a stripe on their arm. (Roaring is optional.) Occasional calls of “Faster, tigers!” will keep everyone moving. Some kids will do so many laps, there will be no more room on their arms!

Rope Games: The classic, of course, is Tug-o-War. You can get a bunch of children on each side, but it works surprisingly well to have a teacher on one side and all the kids on the other. Calling something like, “Don’t you pull me to the fence! I’m gonna pull you all to the slide!” will help them stay organized. Younger children (2’s and 3’s) have a hard time pulling in the same direction as each other, so for them it works well to tie one end somewhere solid. You hold the other end, and the kids hang on in the middle and pull every which-way. I like to shake the rope while shouting, “You kids you! You give me back my rope!” Be careful not to let the rope get too close to the ground—any kids who get on top can get flipped off it. Ropes can also be used to climb up slides, and to haul heavy things.

Newspaper Crash: You know how the superhero The Hulk just smashes straight through walls? You can give kids that sense of power too! Two adults hold a sheet of newspaper tight like a wall, and kids take turns running straight through it! It’s a little scary the first time or two, but soon they realize it feels AMAZING. Of course, at the end of the game you’ll have accumulated a huge pile of torn up paper. Give the kids one minute to make newspaper balls, and then everyone gets to throw them around the gym! Finally, bring out a trash-can and have everyone play newspaper basketball until you’re all cleaned up.
*Pro-tip: You’ll go through newspaper faster than you can believe. Lay all the sheets out flat before you begin, and start with a pile that strikes you as absurdly large.