Looking for a way to keep your preschoolers active, engaged and having fun indoors? An indoor obstacle course is the perfect solution! The best thing is you don’t need expensive play sets to set up these games and kids love challenges.
Not only will these activities help your little ones burn off some energy, but they also offer many developmental benefits, from improving motor skills to enhancing problem-solving abilities.
Here are some awesome obstacle course ideas for preschoolers that you can easily set up using household items.
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What You Need to Set Up Obstacle Courses
You can use these items when you are setting up obstacle courses for preschoolers.
Soft Cushions or Pillows Perfect for hurdles, tunnels or soft landings when jumping or crawling.
Chairs or Tables Use them to drape blankets over and create tunnels.
Ropes or String String them up low for a rope crawl or lay them flat on the floor for jump challenges.
Tape Painter’s tape or masking tape is great for marking paths or creating balance beams.
Hula Hoops Use them as tyres for children to jump through or step into.
Balls or Soft Toys For activities like kicking a ball to a goal or tossing soft toys into baskets.
Cups or Blocks Stack them up for a cup stacking challenge.
Indoor Obstacle Course Ideas For Preschoolers
1. Rock Jumping
Grab some couch cushions or pillows and stack them up to create rocks for your children to jump over.
You can mix things up by arranging them at different heights or distances to make the obstacle course challenge, fun and exciting.
2. Tyre Obstacle Course
Create circles on the floor using hula hoops or large circular objects.
The challenge is to jump from one tire to the next without touching the floor. Add a stacking up challenge at the end.
3. Crossing The Crocodile River
Lay down a long piece of tape to create a bridge or other shapes for the kids to walk across.
They’ll need to balance as they cross without falling off. You can make other obstacles in the middle.
4. Cup Stacking or Building
Have kids race to stack a set of cups into a pyramid or build something with blocks as part of the obstacle course.
Children need more focus and patience on this. Mix with other running or crawling tasks with this game to keep things interesting.
5. Kicking a ball to goal
Let kids kick a soft ball to a goal. You can set up a goal using a chair or a cushion.
Combine with other obstacles and make this the final challenge.
6. Tunnel Crawl
Crawling is a fun activity that helps kids use up energy.
Set up a tunnel using a cardboard box or drape blankets over chairs to create a crawl-through space.
To make it more challenging, hide some objects in the middle of the tunnel. Kids must find these items to finish the obstacle course successfully.
7. Balloon Toss
Set up an area where kids have to toss balloons into a basket or bucket. You can use a laundry basket or a large bucket.
This is a great activity to do when you have more players like in a classroom or a party.
8. Dinosaur Footprints
Use masking tape to create dinosaur footprints on the floor. Kids need to hop, step or jump from one footprint to the next imagining they’re following a dino trail.
Combine other crawling courses into this game to make it more fun.
9. One Foot Jump
Place small obstacles like pillows that kids need to jump over using just one foot.
They could skip from one obstacle to the next, practicing balance as they go. Set up another challenge like a balloon toss or kick a ball at the end.
10. Sock Slide
Here’s another simple yet super fun obstacle course idea for preschoolers. Have your kids put on their socks and race across a smooth floor (Works on a hardwood floor or something similar)
Set up a starting point and a finish line and watch them slide their way to the other side.
Again to make this more challenging, combine it with other obstacles.
11. Maze Crawl
String up some yarn or ribbon between two walls (Ideally a hallway) or between other furniture, creating a mini maze.
Kids must crawl through the maze without touching the strings to reach the target.
12. Animal Movements
To make things more fun, add some animal movements into the course. For example, “hop like a bunny,” “crawl like a bear,” or “waddle like a penguin.”
Mix different animal movements within the same obstacle course.
13. Dominoes Crawl
Create a line or pattern of dominoes on the floor. You can make a straight path or zig-zags.
Be sure to space them out enough so they’re not too close together, as you’ll want the kids to crawl without knocking them over.
Benefits Of Playing Obstacle Courses For Preschoolers
Develops Motor Skills
Activities like running, jumping and crawling support the growth of gross motor skills.
Improves Balance and Coordination
Children learn to balance through various challenging activities like balance beam and rope jumping.
Enhances Focus and Attention
Obstacle courses require children to pay attention to what they’re doing, which helps improve focus and concentration.
Burns Off Energy
It’s a fun way for kids to use up their energy and stay active, especially when they can’t go outside.
Safety Tips When You Are Doing Indoor Obstacle Courses
When kids are playing indoor obstacle courses, watch out for fragile items around them.
Make sure obstacles are safe too. Use soft items like pillows or soft toys. When you are using other furniture (eg: chairs) as overhead obstacles, be aware of sharp edges.
The games can progress smoothly as long as there are no outside obstacles, just the challenges within the game itself!
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