Learning computational thinking concepts is challenging for young students due to their abstract nature. Embodied cognition suggests innovative approaches that facilitate the learning of abstract concepts through bodily activities. The current study examined how early elementary students understood symbols and sequences of programming while engaging in bodily movement on a physical mat, which simulated programming tasks. The findings suggested that the embodied learning activities improved conceptual understanding of CT concepts and revealed that students actively utilized their hand gestures to figure out sequences of codes, which demonstrated how students made links between embodied learning activities and programming tasks. The educational effects of embodied activities were discussed.