Teaching kids the importance of personal space introduces the concept of privacy and how we should have control over our bodies. Talking about this at an early age teaches kiddos important lessons about consent and how parts of our bodies shouldn’t be touched by other people. Luckily, there are lots of fun ways to work through personal space activities in a fun and engaging way!
1. Saying “No”
Ask half of your students to stand in a hula hoop. The other students’ mill about the room asking for a hug, high five or to touch their hair, etc. Encourage your hula hoop students to say “no” at least half of the time and make sure that everyone has had a turn saying “no”. This activity is an important lesson in consent.
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2. Personal Space Circle
For this activity, your students will need a large sheet of paper and some coloring pencils. Put your child’s name in the center, and then draw another circle around that; labeling it with who they live with. Add grandparents, friends, and teachers. Wrap up the activity with a discussion on how we should behave with different groups of people.
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3. Personal Space Invader Poster
This is a great reminder to display in your learning space. This sweet alien poster teaches kids to recognize different body language and social cues from their peers. As a class, ask everyone if they would like to add anything else to the poster.
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4. Social Story on Personal Space
Social stories on personal space are great for helping children understand how boundaries are there to protect us and can change depending on the relationship we have with someone.
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5. Share a Story
The book teaches kids the space invader rhyme “arms out front, and arms out wide, now put your arms down by your side”. It’s perfect for teaching physical boundaries.
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6. Personal Space Rules
Students can choose from several activities; all of which explain personal space in a simple way. Students can work through the ‘my personal space’ worksheet and draw what a good personal space playing tag looks like to them.
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7. Good and Bad Choices
This simple chart breaks down good and bad choices and can be worked through in a group. Have students think about different scenarios that involve personal space such as: grabbing, licking, and asking before giving a hug. They can then sort these scenarios into these into the correct column.
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8. Positive Personal Space
We’ve talked a lot about how not to invade others’ personal space but when is it ok to enter people’s bubbles? Ask children to share their thoughts and discuss their thoughts. For example, if we need medical care, it’s ok to let a doctor or nurse help us.
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9. Hula Hoop Activity
Set up four hula hoops in the shape of a square. Each student has a hula hoop and a bean bag. Students start in the plank position and on “GO”, will start throwing their bean bags into the other hoops. The goal is to have the least amount of bags at the end of the game.
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10. Space Protector
Kids need to fill in the speech bubbles with what they would say to someone who is entering their personal space and what they would say when entering someone else’s personal space. This teaches kids the importance of respecting others’ personal boundaries.
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11. Touch vs. No Touch Activity
This is great for little ones who love to touch and need a lot of tactile feedback. These cards go through different examples of how we can show our love and appreciation without touching. The pictures and simple labeling make these super easy to understand.
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12. Move it or Lose It
Set out hoops for your kids and allocate one student per hoop. This represents their personal space. Tell the students to watch as you carefully hold up different cards showing different on-the-spot activities. Students must watch as you change the card so that they can change their movements accordingly. This teaches them good self-control as they stay within their personal space.
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13. My Bubble
This gets kids to think of their personal space bubble as a physical bubble around them. It’s a great way to introduce the topic of personal space to kids. Having control over their own personal space and working through the questions on this worksheet helps learners understand this.
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14. Personal Space Song
This catchy song, aimed at kids, is perfect for playing in the classroom as a reminder of respecting each other’s boundaries. Kids will soon be singing along and learning without even realizing it!
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15. Bubble Concert
This fun bubble concert is easily adaptable for kids. Simply hand out one hoop per child and say you’re going to have a party! The catch is that each child has to stay in their own ‘bubble’, teaching them self-discipline. Blow bubbles for them to pop too!
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16. YouTube Social Story
Reading through a social story teaches valuable social skills to kids in an easy-to-process way. With bright visuals and easy-to-read text, they appeal to kids and present a great insight into personal space.
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17. Self-Control Bubbles
Self-control is an important skill for kids to learn. Reserve these bubbles for a fun end-of-the-day task. Tell students that they can only pop a bubble if it lands on them. If you pop a bubble on someone else, or on the floor, you’re out of the game!
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18. Simon Says
For kids, learning about their bodies, how they move, and learning to control them is an important part of growing up. In the game ‘Simon Says’ kids learn to focus on the movement of certain body parts eg; ‘Simon Says, touch your nose’.
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19. Mirror Me
Pair your students up and position them at a comfortable distance from each other. One person acts as the mover, and the other as the mirror. The mover moves their body slowly and the mirror must copy their movements. This gets kids to slow down and focus on their bodies; a valuable personal space skill.
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20. Personal Space Camp
This sweet book is aimed at kids aged 3-6 years old. Addressed within the book are complex issues of respect for another person’s physical boundaries. This story is a must-have resource for parents, teachers, and counselors who want to communicate the idea of personal space in a manner that engages kids.
Learn More: Amazon
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