Get Your Kid Moving: Fun Gross Motor Activities to do Around the Home

Gross motor or physical skills are those that require whole and large body movements including crawling, rolling, walking, and running. Gross motor skills involve core stabilization to perform these tasks and also enable children to perform everyday self-care skills like balancing on one leg to put your other leg into the pant leg, climbing into and out of bed, or maintaining upright posture while sitting to eat dinner.

Below is a list of gross motor activities that encourage motor functions.

Outdoor Play. Encourage your child to climb, run, jump, swing, and balance at the park and on the playground structure

Dance. Dance with your child. Encourage different movements like stomping, jumping, hopping, leaping, and galloping. Sing and do the Hokey Pokey!

Walking. Walk up and down stairs, on a balance beam, on lines, on sidewalk curbs; and have your child walk forward, backwards, sideways, and heel-to-toe.

Obstacles. Create obstacle course for your child to run through, climb over, crawl under, tip toe on, and jump over. Step it up a notch and have your child complete the obstacle in record times.

Throw. Encourage back-and-forth ball play with your child. First start with large balls from a short distance then move farther away. Graduate to smaller balls or bean bags. Have your child throw underhand, overhand, high and low, and to different targets (adult, basketball hoop, into a box, etc.).

Animal walks. Walk like different animals! Walk like a bear, a horse, an elephant, a frog, a duck, and a snake.

References

Gamble, K. (n.d.). Throw and kick a ball [image]. Retrieved from http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/12-18-months-activities-for-large-motor-skills/