Helpful Gross Motor Skill Activities

Gross motor skills are movements that help children develop large muscle control in arms, legs and the entire body.

As a baby, your child learned how to raise her head, roll over, sit and finally stand by exercising her large muscles until they were able to support these skills.

As a toddler, it is important that your child keep exercising these muscles to enable her to run, jump, throw, climb, etc. You can help your child by providing her with a large safe area indoors or out, in which she can move about freely.

Below are a number of movement activities and games you can do with your child to help her develop these important motor skills.

PUSHING AND PULLING

  • WAGONS – Provide your child with a small wagon in which he can fill and pull around the room or yard.
  • PUSH PLAY TOYS – Pretend lawn mowers or other push toys are great for toddlers.
  • CARDBOARD BOX – Toddlers love to push around a large cardboard box.
  • PULL TOYS – You can always make a pull toy out of stuffed animals or play trucks by securely tying a small rope around the toy.

CLIMBING

  • STAIRS – Toddlers are beginning to develop the skill of walking up stairs. Hold your toddlers hand and help her go up and down a small flight of stairs.
  • STAIR TOYS – Provide your child with a small plastic or wooden toy, that allows your child to climb up and then down.
  • LOW STOOL – Set out a small stool and help your child, step up and then step down. Hold your child’s hand if necessary.
  • CURBS – Help your child step up and over curbs.

RIDING

  • RIDING TOY – Toddlers need to learn how to climb on a riding toy and push with both feet to make it go.
  • TOY PONIES – Toddlers love to ride on toy ponies, pushing their bodies back and forth to make it rock.
  • LEG RIDES – Cross your knees and let your child ride on your leg as you raise it up and down. Sing the song “To Market, To Market” while your child rides.

CRAWLING

  • JUNGLE ANIMALS – Pretend with your child that you are wild animals crawling through the jungle. Crawling is a great cross-lateral exercise that will help your child with it is time to learn how to read.
  • CRAWLING OVER – Set out some pillows on the floor and have your child crawl over the pillows.
  • CRAWLING UNDER – Set out a folding table or two chairs with a blanket over the tops of the chairs for a tunnel child can crawl through.
  • CRAWLING UP & DOWN – Find a small hill for your child to crawl up and then crawl down.
  • SNAKES – Show your child how to Slither on the floor like a snake.

ROLLING

  • BODY ROLLING – Have your child stretch out straight and roll across the grass or down a small incline.
  • BODY BALL – Have your child roll up like a ball and try rolling down an incline.
  • BALL ROLLING – Provide your child with different sizes of balls to practice rolling across the lawn or driveway. Rolling balls down an incline is also fun.
  • BOWLING – Set out some large empty soda bottles and give your child a ball and let her try to knock down the bottles. This activity works best on a hard surface.

WALKING, RUNNING AND MARCHING

  • WALK ON A LINE – You can help your child improve his balance by walking on a line. Tape some masking tape on the floor for your child to walk on.
  • MARCHING BAND – Have your child follow you as you march around the room.
  • WILD HORSES – Have your child run with you around the room like wild horses.
  • GALLOPING HORSES – Gallop around the room like galloping horses. Have your child first gallop slow, then have him gallop fast.
  • DINOSAUR FEET- Have your child stomp around the room pretending to be a giant dinosaur.
  • WALKING BACKWARDS – Show your child how to walk backwards. See how many steps she can take backwards.
  • SIMPLE CHASE GAMES – Pretend to chase your child, then have him chase you.

JUMPING

  • JACK-IN-THE-BOX – Have your child squat down, then jump up like a jack-in-the-box. Sing the following song as your child squats down.
  • OUT POPS JACK – Tune: “Pop Goes The Weasel” Down, down, down he goes. Down to the bottom. When someone opens the box Out pops – Jack!
  • TWO FEET JUMPS – Have your child try to jump with both feet off the ground.
  • JUMP IN THE WATER – Set out a blue blanket or rug and have your child run and jump in the water.
  • JUMP OFF STEP – Have your child stand on a step and jump down to the floor.

THROWING/TOSSING

  • BEAN BAG TOSS – Fill small zip-lock bags with material scraps and let your toddler practice tossing them into an empty box or laundry basket.
  • BALL THROWING – Give your child small rubber balls to practice throwing as far as they can outside in your yard.
  • MINI – FRIZBEE’S – Give your toddler 4-5 small margarine lids (or other plastic lids). Have them try to toss them like Frizbee’s and see how far they go.
  • RING-TOSS – Set up a large circular ring, like a hula-hoop and have your child try throwing small rubber objects through the middle of the circle.

HOPPING

  • BUNNY HOP – Show your child how a bunny hops. Have him repeat your motions.
  • FROG HOP – Show your toddler how a frog hops. Have her repeat your motions.
  • SIDEWALK CRACK HOPPING – Go for a walk with your toddler. Encourage him to hop over cracks in the sidewalk.
  • YARD STICK – Hop Lay a yard stick on the floor and have your toddler hop over it.
  • ONE FOOT HOP – Show your child how to hold up one foot and hop using only one foot.

KICKING

  • KICK BALL – Give your child a small ball and show him how to set it down and then kick it across the yard. Play a game where you kick the ball to him and he kicks it back to you.
  • BEAN BAG KICK – Using the bean bags mentioned in the Throwing section, have your child kick the bags as high as she can. See if you can catch the bags in a small bucket, when she kicks them up.
  • KICK THE CAN – Give your toddler a small empty coffee can with the plastic lid on top. Have her place the can on the floor and kick it , so that it rolls across the rug.

BOUNCING

  • BOUNCE AND CATCH – Give a small (approximately 4”) ball to your child. Go outside to a solid surface, such as a sidewalk and show your child how to throw a ball down so that it will bounce back up for you to catch.
  • BOUNCE AND COUNT – Have your child bounce a ball and then count with you how many times it bounces before it stops.

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