Activities for
Gross Motor Skills

Since gross motor skills can be learned and improved with practice, children need plenty of opportunities to exercise these skills.

Scroll down for a list of 10 activities you can do to improve your child's gross motor skills.

A baby starts developing gross motor control from birth, beginning with the control of her head and torso, continuing until she has mastered sitting, crawling, standing and eventually walking, running, jumping and the range of activities that an adult can do.

Children learn new gross motor skills by practicing until a particular skill is mastered.

Gross motor skills include:

• balance – the ability to maintain equilibrium
• body awareness – for improved posture and control
• crossing of the mid-line
• laterality – awareness of the left and right sides of the body
• major muscle co-ordination
• spatial orientation – awareness of the body position in space and in relation to other objects or people

As a child develops increasingly better control of the arms and legs, she begins to develop fine motor skills, such as grasping, touching, feeding herself etc.

Without reasonable gross motor skills, children often struggle with the fine motor skills that are required for formal school work.

There are other added benefits derived from the physical exercise that practicing gross motor skills provides:

“At this age a child needs several hours of physical activity a day. This helps to build the body, purify the blood, promote good digestion and calm the nerves.”
(Raymond Moore, Homegrown Kids, p113)

“For we are an over wrought generation, running to nerves as a cabbage runs to seed; and every hour spent in the open is clear gain, tending to the increase of brain power and bodily vigour, and to the lengthening of life itself. They who know what it is to have fevered skin and throbbing brain deliciously soothed by the cool touch of air are inclined to make a new rule in life: Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.”
(Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Volume 1)

Make sure your child has plenty of time to run around, climb, play and even do some work, such as gardening or helping with other chores out of doors.

Even if you are a city dweller, find a park, a vacant lot or other suitable place where you can go and get enjoy some physical exercise. Even in cold weather, dress up warmly, go out and develop your child's gross motor skills, while enjoying the outdoors.

“In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother’s first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air.”
(Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Volume 1)

Besides the physical benefits of being outdoors, for the purpose of physical activity, other valuable learning opportunities may also arise as your children encounter objects in nature or other subjects that captivate their attention.

From about three years of age, your child will be ready to make good use of playground equipment that is designed to use her large muscles vigorously and develop gross motor skills. Don’t deprive her of climbing – just help her to do it safely and within limits. Climbing is particularly good for stimulating a child’s sense of laterality.

Country living usually provides small trees and fences for this activity, but city parks or playgrounds with a jungle gym or slide will also achieve the same. Encourage your child to use and many of the apparatus at a play park as possible.

Developing Gross Motor Skills

Remember, that each individual has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. I believe that in life, we all need to learn to improve our weak areas to an acceptable standard, compensate for them where necessary while focusing on, developing and enjoying our strengths and talents.

No one is good at everything. The object of these stimulating activities, is to help your child develop each area to her unique potential, not to over-stimulate or try and develop super-babies!

Click here for gentle, educational, toddler activities for 1 year olds .

The following are suggestions of activities you can do with your child to develop gross motor skills. They are aimed at 3-5 year olds, but since this is a wide range, you should adapt them according to your child's proficiency.

1. Play with a large ball. Encourage your child to kick the ball, using one foot and then the other. Then throw and catch it too.

2. Encourage your child to ride a bike, a push bike or pedal bike with or without side-wheels, according to your child’s ability.

3. Play “Simon says - do this.” Say those words and do an action that your child must copy. When you say “Simon says do that” she must NOT do the action.

4. To teach your child spatial relations. Ask her to stand in front of a chair, behind a chair, next to the chair, on top of the chair and crouch under the chair.

5. To develop her sense of laterality, let your child kneel on the floor, then instruct her in turn to lift her left hand, lift her right leg etc.

6. Tell your child that she must be your shadow and mimic all your actions as your walk about and perform simple actions.

7. Learn action songs and perform the actions as you sing them.

8. Ask your child to imitate the movement of different animals: creep like a snake, waddle like a duck, hop like a rabbit etc.

9. Encourage her to balance first on one leg, then on the other for as long as possible.

10. Ask your child to gallop like a horse.

At www.best-child-toys.com there are descriptions of various types of toys that will help develop your child's motor skills and cognitive ability.

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In just a few minutes, doing one easy activity a day, you can have fun and interact with your children in a way that will stimulate their all-round growth and development.

• Activities to stimulate gross motor skills and co-ordination
• Activities to develop fine motor skills and artistic creativity
• Songs, rhymes and music appreciation for developing auditory preception
• Activities to develop visual skills which are important for reading
• Activities to develop numeracy and mathematical concepts
• Linguistic activities to develop language skills
• Faith building activities
• Plus various extras for YOU – useful websites, resources, book reviews, tips, advice and encouragement.

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