Play with Sticks or Twigs

When children find sticks or twigs, spontaneous play often arises. The stick can become a sword, a walking stick, or a magic wand. Let the children explore all the possibilities a stick or twig offers, focusing on play and imagination.

Tips for activities:

• Place a stick on the ground and let the children run or dance around it.
• Place a stick between your legs and jump around like a kangaroo, or pretend you are riders on a horse.
• Lift a stick up behind your back with both hands and move it over your head without letting go. Try the same way back.
• Run around and play car by holding a stick with outstretched arms in front of you.
• Place a stick on the ground and try to pick it up without bending your knees.
• Hold a stick with outstretched arms in front of you while sitting down. Can you stand up again without letting go?
• Hold a stick in front of you with both hands. Try to step over the stick without touching it, and return to the starting position.
• Let one child hold a stick directly in front of another. The other child can practice walking or jumping over the stick without touching it.
• Throw a stick up in the air with one hand and try to catch it. Switch between the right and left hand.
• Place a stick against a wall or another fixed point and hold it with one hand. Go over or under the stick without it falling down or moving. Lower the stick a little each time you go under it.
• Swing a stick around you like a fencer.
• Throw a stick like a spear, first from a standstill, then with a run-up.
• If the children have two sticks, they can drum and keep time. Maybe someone will dance to the rhythm they create?
• Make a 'bridge' with a stick: Jump over it with feet together, like a jumping jack, like a frog, or hop over on one foot.