The activity will utilize the outside of the basketball court with cones marking the corner turns and the sides. An empty wheeled (easier) trash barrel, (which is really the city of Polka Dot Cheese!), will be surrounded by heavy-duty cones and is put on the end of the gym that's closest to the start line. This barrel is where the "toys" (whatever you have in your equipment room that's small enough to carry) will be dropped. Three baskets (laundry) full of “toys” are spread out about twelve feet away from the dropping barrel. These baskets should be about five to six feet apart from each other, so there isn’t a bottleneck created when kids first come in. The items are dropped into the barrel when they come around from finishing their lap. They continue to go around until the signal to stop is heard. After a time limit, (I use three to five minutes) I dump out the barrel and have the students count out how many items they have. I let the kids put them into groups of ten to make it easier, and also to incorporate math skills.

The Toy Titan

"You remember that we have been learning that by making our hearts beat faster when we are exercising, it will make our hearts stronger. That is a GREAT thing! Because I know all of you want to help your hearts get stronger, I have an adventure that will get your heart going, and will help children in the Land of Rainbow Mountains as well."

"In the city of Polkadot Cheese and the Land of Rainbow Mountains, the evil Toy Titan has stolen all of the toys from the children living there. They are very sad and need your help! Your mission? To secretly sneak fun toys in to the city of Polkadot Cheese! You will see your “secret” toy dropping spot, (empty wheel barrel) where all the toys are waiting for you to deliver!" After you make your delivery, grab another toy and be on your way!

"Your challenge? You have to be careful of the Toy Titan who flies from his cave from time to time. You'll never know when he is coming! He has a special radar in his horrible hideout that will go off if he sees you. If you perform the locomotor skills of walking, running, galloping, and sliding correctly, he will never see you dropping off toys on his radar. So, it is very important that you perform your locomotor skills exactly as how you were taught!"

"You will begin with a toy already in your hand. You will walk around the gym floor cones one time and drop your toy into the “secret” spot (empty trash barrel). After picking up another toy (only one toy at a time), you skip around the cones one time and drop your present into the “secret” spot. The third time around, you gallop around the cones. The fourth time, you slide around the cones." (Teacher changes the order of these) "We'll practice these skills a little bit before we start."

"Now, go get a toy and let’s get ready to help children in the city of Polkadot Cheese! Be careful!!. If you are performing your movements incorrectly, the Toy Titan might show up!"

At the end of the activity, have students check their pulse (neck, chest, & wrist) and talk about the benefits of increasing your heart rate.