Video  Supports all levels

Beginners  As suggested in the instructions, use “pretend play” to make the learning of the basic tuck shapes more fun.

Intermediate  Be more strict about holding the knees close to the chest and having the toes pointed. 

Advanced  Show the basic tuck position and have the children suggest other ways of how they can show the tuck position. 

Special Needs  Explore doing these shapes as said in the instructions.

Although this is not a locomotive movement, this body shape is used in the lesson so it is a preparatory skill for other activities.

Have the children sit on placemats in a circle with half a meter of space between them.

Show and teach the seated tuck position first: Sit down with knees pulled in to the chest making the body as small and round as possible. 

Have the children pretend to be animals or insects when doing the other four tuck positions as seen in the photos. For example, tuck on the side could be a hedgehog curled up small. Tuck on the back can be a beetle on is back. Tuck on the feet can be a baby chick. Tuck on the knees can be a tortoise. 

Hold the legs just below the knees and pull them in close to the body when doing all the tuck positions. 

Be sure there is enough space between the children so that no one gets hurt as the children maneuver into the different positions.

Beginners  To make rolling easier, the roll can be done from a kneeling position on a bench or low height. This helps to give the momentum to roll over.

Intermediate  The children can do the roll over by starting with the feet wide apart, which allows for more space to tuck the head in.

Advanced  The rollover should be done with the legs together throughout the roll.

Special Needs  If the child has a very stiff neck or is very overweight I suggest you do not do rollovers. Have them do log rolls instead. It may be they are scared of doing it as well. Give as much support and encouragement until they feel comfortable and are competent with doing the roll over. Follow the suggestions given above when teaching it.

Create groups according to the number of adults.

If the children have never done a forward roll, one-on-one assistance is needed to give support until they understand how to do it on their own. 

By standing tall at the end of the mat with the arms up, the hands are then placed on the floor  approximately twenty to thirty cm in front of the feet with the hips held high.

The head must be tucked in so the chin is resting on the chest. The back of the head is placed on the floor between the hands.

A small push from the feet is then done to give the body the momentum to roll over. The hands support the body equally as the body rolls over the head.

Use these key instruction words: Hands down, hips up, tuck in your head, push and over you go.

To support, stand at the side, or kneel beside the child. Place one arm under the tummy and the other hand can gently push the child’s head in. The supporting arm can assist with lifting and guiding the hips over.

After rolling over the child must finish in a seated tuck position. 

If you do not have a mat, a thin sleeping mattresses or a soft surface for the placement of the head will work just as well.

If the head is not tucked in properly it is difficult to round the back for the rollover resulting in a fall onto the back. Immediately correct and help children who do not tuck their head in correctly to prevent injury.

If the hands are not used evenly to support the body during the rollover, the child will fall over onto the weaker side.

If a child has a stiff neck or finds rolling over very difficult, have them kneel on a level higher than the floor, such as a bench, this will help give momentum for the rollover and will make the tucking in of the head easier to achieve.

Beginners  An adult can hold the ankles or arms to assist with the initial rolling action until the children gain the momentum to continue on their own.

Intermediate  Encourage the pairs to roll over at the same time keeping their bodies straight and their legs together.

Advanced  Have one child hold the ankles of the other as an alternative way to do the activity. Add a third child to add a further challenge. 

Special Needs  If needed use a folded rope or something similar for the children to hold onto instead of each other’s arms.

Two children lie on their backs on the floor with their arms extended above their heads. 

The pairs hold each other’s arms using the monkey grip which is holding onto each other’s forearm. Their arms and bodies must form one long straight line.

The bodies must be held as straight as possible with the legs together throughout the activity.

When instructed, the children roll over at the same time and continue to roll along the floor or mat without breaking their grip.

If the arm grip is broken, help the children to re-grip, straighten them out and let them continue rolling.

Help the children understand that the longer and straighter their bodies are, and by rotating at the same time, they will then maintain the log position longer and roll further. 

The log roll can also be done individually.

If the children are in danger of hurting themselves or each other, stop them and correct their body positions before letting them continue.

Give space between each rolling pair so they do not crash into each other.

Beginners  Hands placed on the upper back and on the shins will help the children hold the tuck position and will enable you to assist with giving the momentum needed for rocking.

Intermediate  You may need to remind the children to keep the chin tucked in and to pull on the knees continuously.

Advanced  Encourage the children to gain more momentum when rocking.

Special Needs  More assistance may be required to help keep the knees close to the body while rocking.

Have the children lie on their backs and pull their knees in close to their chest in the tuck position.

Keeping the knees close to the chest and the chin tucked in, the children rock backward and forwards, the body must be held in the round tuck position throughout the activity.

The rocking momentum is achieved by pushing from the floor with the feet when in the sitting position and from the back when in the backward phase.

If a child drops the head back or releases the hold on the knees, the activity will be difficult to achieve.

The more speed one has when doing this activity, the easier it is to gain momentum to rock back and forth.

This is an important preparation skill for learning backward rolls.

Assist a child in achieving this activity by placing your hand on their upper back and on their knees (shins) so you can gently aid their backward and forward motion as needed.

Warn the children to take care that they do not hit their mouth with their knees when rocking.

Beginners  Verbally guide the children through the body positions of each phase and if needed help them to open their legs and show them how to pull the knees in to their chest so they have the momentum to roll over to tuck again.

Intermediate  Encourage straight legs when they are apart mid-way and encourage more speed when rolling over to end in tuck again. 

Advanced  Quick transitions from tuck to the open straddle and back to tuck should be done with straight wide legs, pointed toes and good control and speed throughout.  

Special Needs  The sequence of movement may be challenging but not impossible. Give verbal guidance and physical support as needed.

The side roll starts at the end of a mat in a kneeling tuck position.

A roll is done sideways onto the back, straight after doing so, the arms are placed out to the side on the floor and the legs are held up in the air as wide as possible . This open leg position is called “straddle”.

During this straddle position the head and back are resting on the floor and the legs are held at a 90-degree angle to the floor and in a wide open position for a few seconds.

The roll then continues over moving in the same direction. This is done by quickly pulling the knees in close to the chest, which gives the body the momentum to roll over and finish in the same kneeling tuck position that they started with.  

Children respond well and enjoy this activity more if the teacher shouts “hello” when they open up in straddle and then say “goodbye” as they roll over to the end tuck position. Say the “goodbye” word quickly to correlate with the speed needed to to roll over to end the activity.

If each child has their own mat or space they can do the side roll first one direction and then roll back to where they started. 

This activity can be done on the floor if no mats are available with each child having their own rolling space.

Make sure there is enough space between the children and that they all roll in the same direction so as to avoid colliding with each other.

Adult / Child  To challenge the children further, a race can be held to see who is the fastest chicken walker. The activity can also be done with pairs holding hands. Builds length strength and stamina.

The children crouch down low to the ground, standing on their feet with their bottoms close to their heels in a standing tuck position.

Keeping this low crouched position the children waddle forward like a small chick.

This is a good leg strengthening activity and the children will only manage short distances.

This activity can be done to leave the room or as a final activity before ending the lesson.

Encourage the children to chicken walk in a straight line so that they do not fall on one another.