Pushing and Pulling - Video

This activity is a part of the ChildcareAlive! Active Play Lesson called “Movin’ and Groovin.” Pushing and Pulling is actually the last part of the game called “Row Row Row Your Boat…to the Farm!”

In this video, you will see children mimic several pushing and pulling motions. You will see the leader encourage children to switch between soft/hard pushes and soft/hard pulls, which helps children learn about appropriate strength and pressure. These skills are valuable to young children because they can apply it to other tasks, such as holding a crayon or pushing in a chair under a table.

The first time you lead this activity, you may use the story written in the ChildcareAlive! Curriculum. After that, try making up your own story, or asking children to make up a story that involves pushing and pulling.

While this activity asks children to pretend to push and pull various items, you can encourage children to push or pull actual objects whenever possible. Examples of pushing activities can include pushing books or blocks, or doing push-ups. Examples of pulling activities can be hanging from monkey bars (pulls on joints), or pulling a set of blocks of toys on top of a towel or blanket.