Think of the backyard workouts as homework. That physical movement develops connections between both sides of the brain, necessary for academic work.
Movement on the right side of the body is controlled from the left side of the brain and vice versa, the movements of the left side come from commands in the right brain.
Jump rope games:
Jump rope games use both feet and later one foot at a time. Be sure, when kids are using one foot that they change feet every so often to develop both sides of the body equally.
One of my favorite jump rope games was double dutch which we did like this: You need 2 long jump ropes and one person at each end holding both ropes. Both ropes are turned inward toward the center in even rotation.
Now the jumper comes in and has to jump over the ropes when they touch the ground, remembering that one rope is coming from left and the other from right.
The rhythm of turning is slower than a single rope to give the jumper time to adjust for the change of rope direction.
Ball games:
Play kickball using a 1 foot in diameter beach ball so no one gets hurt if hit. If you have several kids playing, make a circle and kick across the circle trying to kick to the next person in line across the circle so each person gets a turn.
The rotations can go clockwise then counterclockwise, so kids learn about both directions. These directions are very important to differentiate because in printing and writing both clockwise and counterclockwise circles are used to form and connect letters.
Practice dribbling the same ball just described. This is an individual skill to learn. After the dribbling skill is mastered move on to using alternate hands, for example try 3 dribbles with the right hand, 3 dribbles with the left hand, 2 dribbles then change, and then a little slower one dribble and change, one dribble and change.
In summary, with a jump rope or ball, kids can practice and master motor skills that pay dividends in the academic setting. Some games are individual; some group skills.
For practice
16 basic rhythmic motor skills and dances for practice are in my book:
Rhythms and Dances for School Age Kids
Article by Susan Kramer
