Fun Gross Motor Activities for Kids

Gross Motor Development is the development of the large muscles in our body. The muscles that are responsible for our ability to walk, run, and simply move around. We can see great changes in a child's gross motor development between the ages of 3 and 5: The three year old child can: Walk, run, turn and stop. Coordinate in various situations. Begin to balance. Exhort energy when playing but still needs to rest. The four year old child can: Walk, run, turn and stop. Begins to learn how to skip. Is generally able to balance and climb. Play and stay active with out needing a rest period. The five year old child can: Walk, run, and skip. Coordinate their movement so that they are able to swim, ride a bike, skate. Balance, jump, and climb well. Remain active for long periods and has a high energy level. There are four general rules parents should keep in mind when helping develop their child's gross motor skills: First, protection. Children need large spaces where they can run around safely without getting hurt. Second, friends. Including your child's peers in the activities makes it much more fun and enjoyable. Third, be patient! It takes time to acquire skills such as skipping, balancing and catching a ball. Do not get frustrated if your child is unable to master these skills in short periods of time. And finally, practice. Take the time to practice these new skills with your child. Here are some examples of easy gross motor activities for preschoolers: Shake it! In this body awareness gross motor activity for preschoolers game, get you child to identify body parts and then shake them. Shake your head, knees, hands, arms and so on. Ankle walk Get your child to hold their ankles with their hands and walk. This is a great way to improve their coordination and directional awareness. Red Light, Green Light A simple way to practice road rules. Green light means go (or run), and red light means stop (or stand). What time is it Mr. Wolf? The 'wolf' stands on one end of the yard with his back turned and everyone else is all the way on the other side. All the children ask: "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" and the wolf answers with a time, the children would then have to walk steps corresponding to the time (e.g. if it was 5 o'clock, the children would have to take 5 steps). The game continues in the line of questioning until the wolf thinks the children are close, in which case he or she would reply "LUNCH TIME!" and would turn around and try to catch the children. Whoever is caught becomes the wolf in the next round. This game is a fun game loved by all kids. Statues Game Play some music and dance. When the music stops your child has to FREEZE! In class, I incorporate the theme of that week into the game. For instance, when we were learning about Autumn, I would tell the children to freeze in the shape of a tree. A simple and easy gross motor activity for preschoolers ;)