Activities to Develop Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills are a crucial part of a child’s development, they refer to the physical skills involving large whole body movements with coordination of the limbs, head and trunk. These skills are our foundation and are often used frequently on a daily basis. Some examples of gross motor skills are walking, running, jumping, hopping, kicking, catching, throwing and lifting just to name a few. Working on these skills helps participants develop the necessary strength, body awareness and coordination to perform these tasks effectively.
As mentioned, these skills are a foundation to continue developing, such as learning to jump will then pave the way for the child to then begin working on learning to hop. These skills also assist with the development of fine motor skills such as the development of core strength to be able to sit upright and the developed coordination of the shoulders, arms and hands to be able to draw and write.
Kids learn from doing and practicing these skills which usually are in the form of play. Even if a child is delayed in learning gross motor skills compared to their peers, by exposing them to activities which involve these tasks can assist the child to develop these skills to begin to catch up to their peers.
Here are a few ideas of some simple activities that can be done with your child to help develop these skills further:
Outdoor play at a playground - an obvious but very beneficial activity for kids as playgrounds often involve climbing, jumping and motor planning to figure out how to use various equipment which will improve strength and coordination.
Floor is lava - a classic kids game which can work on jumping and hopping. Can be done indoors, in the backyard or at a park. This involves trying not to touch the floor while moving between furniture, equipment, mats and different surfaces.
Hopscotch - another simple classic that only requires some pavement and chalk. This can be made longer and more difficult (adding more hops) or made easier (less hops, bigger boxes) and will help work on balance, power and their jumping/hopping skills.
Bicycle riding - a great skill which will encourage more time outside. This can work on strengthening the lower limbs, balance and coordination. It can also be progressed/adjusted for your child's level e.g tricycle to bicycle with training wheels to regular bicycle riding.
Ball games - a versatile way to work on skills such as kicking, catching and throwing. It can be as simple as playing catch, to trying to dribble a soccer ball around cones and then kicking the ball at a target. Ball size can be adjusted to make things easier/harder, as well as encouraging more advanced skills such as catching a ball without use of the body or one hand catches.
Balloon volleyball - a fun game and challenge for the child to try and hit the balloon to keep it in the air. Can help to work on running and coordination of the trunk and upper limbs.
If you have concerns regarding your child’s development you can register your interest online for One Culture’s physiotherapy or exercise physiology. Our therapists can assess your child using standardised testing to see what level your child is currently performing at compared to their age group. This can then be used to create targeted therapy sessions to address areas of difficulty to work on improving these skills.
Register your interest today and one of our team can get in touch to begin planning the support services your child needs. Contact us today via the link here for SA and here for NSW.
