Exercise
Personal Space in PE: Bubble and Boundary Games
By Dave Joisil (Mr. J) · Certified Health and Physical Education teacher
Updated
Teach moving-space boundaries with personal spots, one-way routes and stop cues, plus an original gym-layout card distinct from hallway line-up practice.
Personal space in PE means leaving enough room to move, stop, and change position without contacting someone else. It is not a fixed arm's-length rule: a small reach, a traveling movement, and a mobility-device turn need different amounts of space.
Teach the boundary before adding speed or music. Use a clear, nonslip area, flat markers, and a stopping cue children can both hear and see. The imaginary bubble is a teaching picture, not a guarantee against collisions or a reason to blame a child who needs more room.
Start with parked bubbles
Give each learner a home spot. Ask them to try a small comfortable arm movement without reaching toward a neighbor. The adult checks the gaps and changes the layout where needed. Do not ask children to spin with arms extended to test their space.
Use “make the movement smaller” or “let's move the spot” instead of “stop being careless.” A child may need a clear floor boundary, a tactile marker agreed in advance, a quieter cue, or additional adult support. Explain changes privately when they concern individual needs.
Game one: Open route, closed route
Create two short one-way walking lanes with separate return routes. Show an OPEN sign for one lane and a STOP sign for the other. Children enter only an open lane with room ahead, move at a comfortable speed, and stop before its end boundary. They never race to claim an opening.
Start with a small group while others practice at home spots. Switch the open lane only after everyone is stopped. If children cross paths, close the routes and reset the layout; a confusing route is a planning problem, not an invitation to impose elimination.
Game two: Move, notice, park
In an area large enough for the group, invite slow travel toward empty space. At the adult's stop cue, children finish safely and park without touching anyone. A delayed stop or accidental contact leads to a brief supported rehearsal, not sitting out for the round.
If general-space travel is not yet manageable, keep parallel lanes or personal spots instead. Teach looking toward the route without demanding continuous eye contact with the adult. Do not add blindfolds, sudden reverse directions, or chasing.
Copy-and-print: Bubble and boundary layout
- Movement planned: ______. Space needed for reach, stopping and turning: ______.
- Home spots go here: ______. Adult checks gaps by: ______.
- Travel entry ______ → one-way route ______ → stop space ______.
- Return route separate from moving group: ______.
- Spoken stop cue ______; matching visible cue ______; agreed additional cue ______.
- If paths cross: STOP, clear the area, change ______, rehearse slowly.
- Access and rest choices available to everyone: ______.
Draw the room and mark doors, equipment, and areas that must remain open. Test the route yourself before the class enters. If there is not enough space for everyone to travel safely, use smaller supervised groups or a stationary alternative rather than shrinking the gaps.
Video use and transfer
The Red Light Green Light video can supply optional stop-start prompts after the boundary is learned. It does not monitor your room. Pause it, reduce the movement, and use your own stop signal whenever necessary.
This lesson addresses changing space during PE, not queue order or hallway travel. Use the separate personal-space lesson for lining up for those routines, and no-elimination games to keep supported retries available.
Awareness of others in general space is a movement objective in Howard County kindergarten PE curriculum. The two games and layout sheet are original suggestions, not evidence that a particular spacing system prevents every collision.