What You Need

Bean Bags or Small Bean Bag Animals – at least one per preschooler, at least two per preschooler for an optional activity

Painter's Masking Tape

Recorded Music (optional)

Balance Activities Preparation

Tape a Floor Level Balance Beam - Tape one or more lines or shapes on the floor to create a floor level balance beam, which is simply a line on the floor for preschoolers to walk on. A good length for a taped floor level balance beam is between 5 and 6 feet.

See Fitness Tape Shapes - Balance Beams on the Floor for creative taping instructions for different lines (curvy, zig-zag) and different shapes.

Also see Fitness Tape Shapes – Balance Beams on the Floor for taping instructions for groups.

Instructions for Balance Activities with Bean Bags – Bean Bag Animals

Assign preschoolers to a line or shape (if doing this as a group activity). If you like, give instruction and then play music while preschoolers explore balance activities.

Round 1- Preschoolers Balance While Walking on Tape

Tell preschoolers to try to walk with their feet only on the taped line on the floor. Allow a few minutes for preschoolers to explore and walk on the tape.

Round 2 – Preschoolers Walk and Step Over Bean Bags

Add Bean Bags or Bean Bag Animals

Place a bean bag (or bean bag animal) either in the middle of each line or in the middle of a line on a taped shape.

Preschoolers Walk and Step Over Bean Bags – Tell preschoolers to walk on the tape again and this time, when they come to the bean bag, they must step over the bean bag. Allow a few minutes for preschoolers to explore this round and step over their bean bag.

Round 3 - Preschoolers Squat and Pick Up A Bean Bag

Tell preschoolers to walk on the tape again. This time when they come to the bean bag, they must squat down (while still keeping their feet only on the tape), pick up the balance beam and walk the rest of the way on the balance beam carrying their bean bag.

Round 4 - Preschoolers Carry Their Bean Bags in Different Ways

Tell preschoolers to walk on the tape again and carry their bean bag, but this time they must carry their bean bag on their shoulder. Give these same instructions several times but change the way that preschoolers must carry their bean bag.

On Your Shoulder

On Top of Your Head

Over Your Head (without touching the top of your head)

On Top of Your Foot

Optional Round with More Bean Bags

You'll need two bean bags for each preschoolers to do this optional activity.

As in Round 2, preschoolers will step over bean bags. Begin by putting two bean bags in the middle of each balance beam space and place the bean bags close together.

Tell preschoolers to walk on the tape again and this time, when they come to the two bean bags, they must step over the bean bags.

Tell preschoolers to move the bean bags away from each other a bit. With your hands show preschoolers how far apart to place their bean bags. (A distance of about 5 inches.) Tell preschoolers to walk on the tape again and when they come to the two bean bags, they must step over both bean bags again, but only use one step to step over both bean bags. The idea is that preschoolers must not step into the space between the bean bags. Do this activity over and over again and for each round move the two bean bags a little farther apart until preschoolers are really stretching to step over the two bean bags.

Bean Bag and Bean Bag Animal Themes

Spring - Find bunny, chick, flower and egg shaped bean bags.

Fall - Gather bean bag shapes such as pumpkins, scarecrows and spiders.

Winter Animals – Use winter animal bean bags such as a polar bear, seal, walrus, white fox, etc.

Holiday Colors – Red bean bags for Valentines Day, green for St. Patrick's Day, orange for fall, etc.

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Helpful Tips for Parents

• Set up permanent physical activity invitations in the backyard or play area: a balance beam, stepping stones, a low climbing structure, a tire swing. Permanent setups encourage daily use.

• Dance is one of the most complete physical activities for preschoolers: it develops bilateral coordination, rhythm, balance, spatial awareness, and emotional expression simultaneously.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much physical activity do preschoolers need per day?

The WHO and CDC recommend that preschoolers (ages 3–5) be physically active throughout the day, with a minimum of 3 hours of physical activity daily — including 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity. This can be accumulated across multiple sessions. Most preschoolers meet this recommendation easily if given outdoor access and unstructured play time, but children in settings with limited outdoor access or high screen time frequently do not.

Related reading: See also our indoor gross motor activities and our outdoor chalk activities for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• ⚖️ Balance & Coordination — Activities that challenge balance — hopping on one foot, walking a line, navigating obstacles — develop the vestibular and proprioceptive systems that underlie all coordinated physical movement.
• 🎵 Rhythm & Timing — Moving to a beat, keeping rhythm in marching or clapping, and coordinating movement to music develops the temporal processing that underlies both musical ability and the phonological timing needed for reading.
• 🏅 Physical Confidence — Successfully completing a physical challenge — climbing something scary, jumping a gap, learning a new skill — builds physical self-efficacy: the belief that effort leads to capability, which transfers to all learning domains.
• 🧭 Spatial Awareness — Moving through and around obstacles, understanding where their body is in space, and following directional instructions develops the spatial body awareness that sports, dance, and coordinated movement require.

by Kelly Pfeiffer

This indoor fitness activity develops balance skills for preschoolers as they walk on taped lines on the floor and use a bean bag in different ways to improve balance. Bean bag animals work just as well as bean bags for this indoor activity that promotes listening skills, spatial awareness and balance fitness for preschoolers.