Galloping is one of the early large motor skills that kids learn naturally like walking and running. The galloping motor skill precedes sliding, hopping and jumping in difficulty.

The whole series of 16 large rhythmic motor skills beginning with the easiest to most complex includes: walking, running, marching, galloping, sliding, hopping, jumping, leaping, pedaling, prancing, toe pointing, skipping, waltzing, minuet, schottische, polka.

For kids that have learning disabilities, assist by holding one or both their hands while they practice any of the motor skills.

Galloping explained

Moving forward, the same foot remains in front the whole time. Arms can be held out to the sides for balance or in opposition: when the right foot is in front the left arm is in front, and when the left foot is in front the right arm is in front.

Galloping is done by shuffling the back foot forward to meet the back of the front foot. Then, the front foot takes a step forward and the back foot again shuffles up behind to meet it. The accent is on the step forward: step & step & step & continue.

It is important to takes turns with each foot getting a chance to lead.

Galloping lesson:

Preparation: enough space for the kids to move without bumping into furniture. Some ideas are the front of the classroom with furniture scooted back; the center of the room; the wooden stage in a multi-purpose room; outdoors on the grass or on blacktop. Last choice for a surface is concrete as it has no give for bouncing movements.

This lesson will be making a diagonal shape by moving in a line from one back corner to the opposite front corner. If I had my back to the audience on a stage while facing the back wall I would call out corner 3 moving to corner 1.

To my left shoulder is corner 1, to my right shoulder is corner 2. The next closest back corner is corner 3, and the remaining corner is corner 4.

If you can practice your lesson on the multi-purpose room stage you can point out these corner names to your students. It is the standard all over the world.

Play some lively music and have the students not galloping clap on the accented beat, which is the beat they will step forward on for each gallop.

Every 4 beats have a student begin to move from corner 3 to corner 1 with the right foot in front.

Next, have all the students go to corner 3 and gallop to corner 2 with the left foot in front.

This lesson gives practice learning right and left foot, counting to 4, moving diagonally and learning the corners of the room or stage.

All 16 basic rhythmic motor skills and dances for practice are in my book:
Rhythms and Dances for School Age Kids


Article by Susan Kramer