As children grow up, they develop multiple skills. One of these essential skills is gross motor skills. Research suggests that gross motor skills involve the whole body. Therefore, when a child stands, walks, or jumps, they use their gross motor skills. However, parents and teachers at preschools need to ensure that a child develops proper gross motor skills at the right time, or they might have balance issues, keeping them from walking. Children with poor gross motor development also have trouble sitting straight or writing.
Here are some gross motor skill activities for children that parents and teachers can try.
Playing in the Park or Playground
One of the best activities to help children move, resulting in better gross motor skills, is play. Children love getting on swing sets and spending a lot of time just swinging back and forth. This helps them develop better balance, especially on constantly moving surfaces.
In addition, you can encourage children to get on seesaws, rope ladders, and wobble bridges on a playground. These might seem scary at the start, and your child might need some time to get used to them. However, once your child knows their way around a rope ladder, they can work their trunk muscles while enhancing their gross motor skills.
Bringing in Bubbles
Playing with bubbles is a unique gross motor skills development activity for children. Many people make the mistake of not introducing young children to bubbles, but playing with bubbles can positively impact the gross motor skills of a child.
No one can predict where the bubbles will fly off to, which encourages children to run around, chasing and trying to catch them. While running, children have to change their directions, jump, slow down or speed up, and more, which improves a child’s balance management. If you don’t want to use bubbles, you can arrange the same unstructured play time using balloons.
Using a Tricycle or a Paddle Car
While riding a tricycle or a paddle car might be scary for your child, it’s one of the best ways to develop gross motor skills. Children have to constantly paddle on a tricycle while keeping their hands on the bar, which improves their balance and coordination. Moreover, if you want your child to learn to ride a bicycle sooner or later, letting them ride a tricycle is the first step!
With the help of these gross motor skill activities, your child will learn hand-eye coordination, multi-tasking, and developing a better balance. At Centerra Ranch Montessori School, our preschool in Katy, TX, arranges gross motor skill activities for children between 12-24 months. Our experienced teachers ensure children feel comfortable exploring new activities in our family-centered preschool. We’re also opening a Montessori in Fulshear soon!
Reach out to us and enroll your child in our award-winning Montessori preschool in Katy, TX.
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