Gross motor skills require kids to use big muscles because they involve whole-body movements. Developing these skills helps children develop fine motor skills later on, which focus on smaller muscles and dexterity.
Gross motor skills include sitting, standing, walking, running, jumping, kicking, and lifting things. Here are some fun activities that will help you promote gross motor skills so your children can develop muscular strength and endurance, postural control, balance, coordination, muscle tone, and more!
Water Painting
This is an easy activity to set up, all you have to do is take a chalkboard and shade all over it using colored chalk. Then, you can give your children pots full of water and paintbrushes of different sizes so they can start water painting. Children will love this and you can encourage them to write letters and draw whatever they like. This will improve coordination, arm and hand strength, literacy, and more. We recommend the Mideer Water-Based Chalks for this activity, which are very good quality.
Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a classic game and it promotes balance and coordination because your children have to hop on one leg, which are two important gross motor skills. It can also help children practice numbers in a fun way. Hopscotch is very easy to set up, you just have to go outside and use your sidewalk to draw the hallway with chalk or masking tape. Once it’s ready, explain the rules and let them have fun with it for as long as they want!
Obstacle Courses
Obstacle courses are so much fun and they are not difficult to set up. They are challenging and they get children moving. It’s a great way to encourage exercise and you can do this indoors or outdoors. Just make sure the obstacle course includes a variety of movements, such as jumping jacks, bear walking, hula-hooping, crawling, and more. Obstacle courses can be themed and you can use whatever you have at hand to create a circuit, just make sure the activities are appropriate for the child’s age.
Dance Party
Dance parties or dance classes will promote gross motor skills while having fun. There’s nothing better than dancing and it will help children develop coordination, motor sequencing skills, and balance. At home, you can choose whatever songs your children are enjoying most at the moment and start dancing. Come up with simple sequences for them to follow along and encourage them to create their own sequences.
Playground Fun
Playgrounds offer many benefits for children and they allow them to develop their gross motor skills while having fun. For example, swinging will help them develop their balance and help them learn how to shift their weight. Your children will be climbing ladders to reach the slide, crawling through tubes, walking, running, jumping, using monkey bars, and so much more.
All these activities will get your children moving in many different ways, so they don’t only promote exercise, they also help your kids develop important skills for their development.
