Broomstick Gallop

What you need

• a long cardboard tube from a roll of wrapping paper, for each of you
• a hat or a cape from the dressing-up box
• a phone or speaker for music

How to do it

1. Hold a tube between your legs like a witch's broomstick and show your child how to gallop: one foot leads, the other catches up.
2. Put some music on and gallop round the room or the garden on your broomsticks.
3. Call out a new way to fly: slow and floaty, fast and zooming, skipping, then land with a bump.
4. Take turns calling out the next way to fly.

Why it matters

One foot leads and the other catches up, and a broomstick ride gives them a reason to keep the gallop going round and round.

What they're learning

Galloping

Front foot, back foot, front foot, in a bouncy rhythm.

Changing speed

Floaty and slow, then fast and zooming.

Pretend flying

A tube becomes a broomstick and the room becomes the sky.

What to look for

Notice them keeping the same foot in front for a few gallops in a row.

A tip

Clear a space first, and trim the tube if it reaches the floor so it can't trip them. Gallop on a rug that doesn't slide, or on grass.

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