You can play indoor games on a wrestling mat. Whether it's a rainy day and you can't go outside or just want to keep the kids indoors, use a wrestling mat for games like Duck, Duck, Goose or musical chairs. The wrestling mat will break an accidental fall or slip, and you can even allow preschoolers to take their shoes off and get comfortable first.
A wrestling mat can be used to introduce your preschoolers to cultural activities. For instance, if you are teaching your students about Japanese culture, use a wrestling mat to demonstrate Sumo wrestling. One variation on a Sumo wrestling demonstration is for the teacher to tie a large pillow to the stomachs of two preschoolers and tell them to use the pillows to try to push one another off the mat.
The classroom wrestling mat is a good place to host academic activities for preschoolers. You can tell your students to sit on the mat in a circle and introduce a rubber ball to the group. The object of the game is to roll the ball to someone in the circle while counting. For instance, the first person to roll the ball says "One." The next person to roll the ball says "Two." You can also play this game with the alphabet by calling out the letters: "A," "B," "C" and so on.
Part of your preschool curriculum may be to introduce kids to the concept of wellness, including healthy eating habits and ways to stay active. You can use the wrestling mat in your classroom to demonstrate entertaining exercises for kids to do as a group. For instance, teach your students how to do jumping jacks, pushups or sit-ups. You can even host classroom Olympics by hosting competitions to see which students can do the most jumping jacks in one minute.