8 Games That Help Children Develop Gross Motor Skills

The good news is that there are many games and games to play with your children to help them develop gross motor skills. Here are eight of them.

When we talk about the development of gross motor skills in children, it is basically about the movements of the larger muscles in the body, things like jumping, running, climbing, dancing, etc. The good news is that there are plenty of games and games to play with your children to help them develop gross motor skills.

Playing movement games at home is a great way to promote your child’s gross motor development. So do not miss the chance to play the games and games that we will cover in this article.

Your child gets the chance to work with a variety of skills, such as fine coordination, balance, jumping, spatial awareness, muscle strength and agility.

8 games that help children develop gross motor skills

develop motor skills: children with plastic bowling pins

1. Bowling

This activity can be played with a plastic bowling set or a set that you have made yourself. You can use empty plastic bottles and pour some sand or water into them to help them stand firmly.

You can also make this a creative activity and paint the bottles in different colors. In addition to this, you can vary the amount of sand or water in the bottles to change how easy or difficult it is to hit them with the ball. Arrange the bottles in a V-shape and take turns playing.

2. Jump garden

This toy is old, but children still love it. Jumping pasture is best done outside where you can draw the boxes with chalk on asphalt or concrete. You can take turns with your child to jump through the boxes.

Jump on one foot in single squares and two feet in double squares (one foot in each). When you reach the end, turn around and jump back to the beginning. Learning to jump on one or two feet is an important skill for a preschooler and this is a great game to practice that skill.

Once your child has mastered how to jump, you can vary the game. Use a stone and throw it in the first box before you start. Then the child must jump directly to the second box and avoid the stone.

Then they should jump all the way up to the number 10 box, turn around and jump back again. When they reach square number 1, they have to bend down while standing on one leg and pick up the stone. Then you repeat the procedure, but throw the stone to box number 2, and so on.

3. Balance more!

For this game you can use a plank in the garden or a temporary beam of wood or any other material (a wall or low stools). Practice balancing on it without falling off from one end to the other and turn it into a game.

Pretend there are crocodiles under the “bridge” that you walk on. Challenge your child to cross the bridge and then turn at the end and go back without falling.

4. Everyone into the tunnel!

Stand a short distance from your child with your legs wide apart and let the child try to roll a ball through the tunnel, that is, through your legs.

With practice, you can start moving further away from your child and make the tunnel narrower by bringing your legs closer together. You can also use a smaller ball.

This is a good game to develop ball skills and fine coordination.

5. Obstacle course

This activity exercises your child’s strength and agility with a fun, self-made obstacle course that you can build either indoors or outdoors . What is important here is that you are creative. You can use different types of props and lay out a “path” and let your children take turns to get through it. You can even run through it on time.

Offer a combination of activities at each station, such as opportunities to climb, jump, throw, etc. Here are some ideas for props and activities:

Walk on or climb on chairs
Balance on boards
Balance a shoe box on your head to improve posture and balance
Jump between squares or rocks
Balance on tree branches

develop motor skills: children crawl under arches

6. Race with eggs on spoon

This competition has been a favorite among children for generations – your children love to compete with you in this fun game. Balance only one egg on a spoon and get from the starting line to the finish line as fast as possible without dropping the egg.

It is best to boil the eggs first, unless you are really in the mood for a stickier and stickier game! Nothing will improve your child’s skills and concentration faster than the threat of an egg breaking!

7. “The king commands…!”

King Command is a game that can be played to develop many of your child’s skills, including the ability to listen, concentrate, control his impulses, etc.

Use this game as a way to develop your child’s gross motor skills. Make it more fun by taking turns and let your child give you instructions to follow as well.

Some tips on prompts can be:

Imitate a crab and go to the wall and back
Run towards a tree, jump four times and run back
Make three somersaults, turn around and lie down with your face up

8. Play balloon tennis to develop gross motor skills

The goal here is to see how long your child can hold the balloon in the air. The participants hit the balloon from side to side and try to prevent it from falling to the ground. Then, once they have mastered how the balloon flies, you can make it harder and try to keep two balloons in the air at the same time.

In short, there is nothing better than helping your child develop their gross motor skills, while having fun and playing and you spend quality time together. So get started and play with your child!