Dancing Panda Fun for All Ages: Act Like an Animal

Konichiwa, Panda Pal! Today we’ll be doing a movement activity called “Act Like an Animal.”

Instructions: Explain to your child that in this activity, they will act like an animal of their choice while the music plays. When the music stops, you will guess which animal they were pretending to be.

Have your child choose an animal. Shhhh - they shouldn't tell you what it is! While your child acts out their chosen animal, play this fun song about animals:

Let the music play for ~10-15 seconds and then stop it. When the music stops, your child should freeze and you should guess which animal they are. Did you get it or did your child stump you?

Repeat as many times as you and your child would like with different animals.

Need some help doing this activity?

Tips:

Feel free to use other music of your choice, if you and your child prefer.
Some good animals to act out are elephant, monkey, penguin, chicken, cat, horse, dog, bear, and snake.
Encourage your child to use physical movements like the way they walk or how they move their arms rather than sounds to clue you in to which animal they are.
If your child has mobility constraints, encourage them to use whichever parts of their bodies they can to act out the animals. For example, a child who does not have use of their legs can act out an elephant by swinging their arm like the elephant's trunk.
For younger kids: You can take away the guessing aspect and act out various animals together while the music plays. You may need to help model the kinds of movements different animals make for very small children.

Learning Connections

This wellness activity focuses on movement. It's important for children and adults of all ages to get plenty of exercise to build strong bodies and cardiovascular health. Elementary-age children also need to develop the ability to perform a wide variety of locomotor and non-locomotor movements. Locomotor movements are when your child moves their body through space to different locations. Locomotor movements include things like running, hopping, crawling, or slithering like a snake. Non-locomotor movements are when parts of the body or the whole body move but do not travel to a new location. Non-locomotor movements include wiggling, swinging your arm like an elephant's trunk, and bending body parts. This activity asks children to perform both types of movements in a fun way.

Additional Resources

Articles for Grownups:

This website offers a parent-friendly explanation of the fundamental movement skills that all elementary school children should learn: https://activeforlife.com/fundamental-movement-skills/
Physical Literacy Checklist for Ages 6-9: https://activeforlife.com/physical-literacy-checklist-6-9-years/
Today’s Global Greeting is in Japanese - “Konichiwa” means “Hello” in Japanese. To learn more about this phrase, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wY1BQZaaEQ&t=2s
Does your child have physical disabilities? You can find great suggestions here for activities to help your child stay active:
- https://www.gympanzees.org/indoor-activities-for-kids-with-physical-disabilities
- https://www.verywellfamily.com/sports-for-children-with-physical-disabilities-1256963

Kid-Friendly Resources:

A musical video that invites kids to make some animal movements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCfWmlnJl-A

Want ideas for more fun movement activities to do with your child? Try this site: https://activeforlife.com/activities/

Education Standards

Education standards are learning goals that identify what students should know and be able to do at particular grade levels (e.g. second grade) or milestone points in their education (e.g. by the end of high school). The Society for Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) has created national standards for Physical Education, which define what children should be able to do at each stage of an effective physical education program. The standards lay out goals but do not provide specific curriculum for achieving those standards. How to achieve those goals is up to individual states, districts, schools, and teachers.

This activity addresses the following National Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education from SHAPE. The full standards can be seen here.

Standard 1: Demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns
Standard 2.E1.2 Combines locomotor skills in general space to a rhythm
Standard 2.E2.2 Combines shapes, levels, and pathways into simple travel and gymnastics sequences