Fun Movement Activities

Hopscotch

Skills Addressed: Strength, bilateral coordination, motor planning, balance, single leg stance

How to adapt: Start with jumping in/out rather than hop/jump. Make the pattern larger/smaller/more challenging. Toss a rock or beanbag to skip a square. Hop on each square instead of hop/jump. 

• 3 year old simple hopscotch
• 6 year old simple hopscotch

Obstacle Course

Skills Addressed:** KEY for obstacle courses is to complete them slowly with good control **  Balance, motor planning, strength, endurance, body awareness, throwing, jumping skills

How to Adapt: Increase distance for jumping forward or down, increasing or decreasing width of balance beam line, walk on tip toes, heel walk, hop on 1 foot, crawl, knee walk, add rolling, increase/decrease number of activities included in obstacle course.

Household items to use: Step stools/thick book/ laundry basket upside down for jumping down from. Pillows/folded blankets/seat cushions for walking across for balance, kitchen chair or hang a blanket across 2 chairs to crawl under for a tunnel, use balled up socks for throwing, pans turned upside down for stepping stones, rope on floor for balance beam, soup cans for cones to weave around, sidewalk chalk for outside obstacle courses

• 6 year old self-made obstacle course
• 9 year old playground fun
• 9 year old hopscotch with stone
• 9 year old hopscotch slowly
• 9 year old hopscotch all hopping
• 9 year old obstacle course
• 6 year old obstacle course version one 
• 6 year old obstacle course version two
• 3 year old obstacle course version two 
• 3 year old obstacle course version one

Ball Play (9 year old) 

Skills Addressed: Eye-hand coordination, overall coordination, motor planning, bilateral coordination, graded control

How to Adapt: Change the size of the ball, use a balloon or weighted ball, change the target to toss to or into, change the distance. Have the child reach in all directions to catch ie: up high or to right or left.  Progression of ball catching- trap with body and arms- catch with both hands- catch with one hand. Increase difficulty level w/ tennis ball - ie: bounce catch with two hands to one hand to alternating hands.

• Bounce and catch with two hands
• Bounce and catch with alternating hands
• Bounce and catch with adult
• Bounce and catch with one hand
• Bounce to target with adult
• Toss and catch up in the air
• Throwing at a target

Develops: balance, strength, coordination, body awareness, motor planning (knowing how to make your body do things to complete a task), awareness of surroundings, graded control (how much force is needed for pedaling/stopping or starting)

Importance: 

• Outside playtime, which is essential for development!
• Promotes children's self-confidence and independence
• Keeps children physically healthy
• Provides opportunities to socialize

Ideas for scooter/bike use:

• Make a chalk road for them to drive on with straight lines, curves, stop signs, intersections (to practice looking both ways), a parking lot etc.
• Have them make the letters in their name while on the scooter
• Drive around obstacles
• Go on a scavenger hunt while on the scooter
• Go for a family bike ride or scooter ride 

**** Teach them safety rules and make sure they wear a helmet ****

Types of scooters and recommended ages:

1. Mini Micro Scooter Children: Ages 1-5
2. Razor Jr Lil Kick Scooter: Ages 6 and under
3. Radio Flyer Kick Scooter: Ages 2-4
4. Mini Micro Scooter: Ages 3-5
5. Y Scooters: This scooter is sort of “self-propelled. It’s a three-wheel scooter, where the back wheels move independently so you can get some momentum with the same sort of movement as roller skates or rollerblades.  You need to swing your lower body from side to side to move forward: Age range of 5 years old all the way to adulthood

Scooter board Activities

On Stomach: 

• Push/Pull self with arms only, keeping feet up
• Have child hang onto a rope or hula hoop with long arms and both hands, and pull them (make sure feet stay up)

In Sitting:

• Sit up tall and hang onto scooter board with hands
• Use feet, one at a time (right foot then left foot) to pull or push self
• Have child pretzel sit, hang onto a rope or hula hoop with long arms and 2 hands and pull them
• Have child pretzel sit, hang onto scooter with 2 hands, and push them on the back to move them forward

Core Strength

Definition: Core strength is strength within the trunk which lays the foundation for all fine and gross motor skills. It also plays a significant role in the ability to learn. 

The impacts of core strength include:

Establishing and Maintaining Attention: Core strength allows a child to focus and attend while learning, as less effort is needed to control and maintain one’s body.

Visual Perception: Core strength helps to provide stability through the head and neck to allow the eyes to take in accurate visual information for visual processing. Weak core strength often correlates with weak eye muscles and difficulty with eye coordination skills.

Static/ Stationary Balance Skills: Core strength provides stability for the arms and legs to develop coordinated movement skills. It is also the foundation for balance skills such as standing on one foot.

Body Awareness and Regulation: Core strength provides the foundation needed for us to know where our body is in space and it allows us to move with purposeful and controlled movements. It provides the stability that allows a student to sit in his/ her chair without wiggling or falling out of the chair. It also helps with body regulation, allowing the student to focus and attend

Breath Support: Needed for talking and breathing efficiently

Foundation: It gives the students the underlying strength needed to move, write, hold their body up against gravity, and develop normally.

Gross Motor Activities to Do At Home that Promote Core Strength

• Hopping on 1 foot/Standing on 1 foot- how many times/seconds can you do it? Use a chair or tabletop to hang onto if needed for support
• Jumping: up/down, forward/backward, sideways, over a small pillow or on/off of a rug
• Walking, running, rolling  up/down a hill slow, fast, forward, backward, sideways etc.
• Play outside: go for a walk, ride a bike, trike or scooter
• Run/walk up a hill and then log roll down the hill
• Animal Walks: Bear, seal, crab, frog jump, duck, worm, wheelbarrow walk
• Kicking, throwing, catching, rolling, bounce/catch, and dribbling a ball
• Hitting/catching a balloon with different body parts or a shortened swim noodle 
• Blowing bubbles and popping them with different body parts
• Help with chores: Sweeping the floor, vacuuming, carry filled laundry baskets to room, clearing the table, wash windows, help carry in groceries.
• Dance to music
• Read a book, play a game or puzzle lying on stomach, tall kneeling, on their hands and knees
• "Stack em up and knock em down": Use cardboard boxes, cereal boxes or 2 liter plastic pop bottles.  Have your child stack them or set them up and then have them knock them over by using hands, kicking them, log  rolling into them or throwing a ball or pair of rolled up socks at them.  
• Yoga, exercise videos/movement songs on YouTube
• Swimming
• Go to a park/play on playground equipment
• Belly/commando crawl or crawl through tunnels or over pillows 

Core exercises on a yoga ball

Walk out/in - Push-ups- Reaching

Walk-Outs: Lay on your stomach and walk out on long arms, slowly and not letting your belly sag, maintaining balance, walk back in slowly
Push-ups: Lay on your stomach, walk out slowly to where you are able to keep balance, do 10 push-ups, and walk back in slowly
Reaching: Lay on your stomach, walk out a little way, keeping your balance

• Raise one arm- hold to count of 5, then the other; Raise one leg-hold to count of 5, then the other

• Raise right arm and left leg- hold to count of 5; Raise left arm, right leg-hold to count of 5

Raise right arm, right leg-hold to count of 5; raise left arm, left leg-hold to count of 5

Crab Walking

Keep body flat and bottom pulled up and stomach tight

• Walk forward, backward and sideways
• Walk over grass, sand, up hills etc.
• Increases core strength, balance, motor planning and body awareness

Stretching out over a ball

• Slowly rock back and forth over ball on stomach to stretch out back
•  Lay on back and do the same thing  
• Stretch with arms above head and out to the side

Positioning

Tall Kneel (Knees shoulder width apart, keep body up tall, no sitting on heels)

Skills Addressed: Increases core strength, helps with body awareness and balance
How to Adapt: Try this while watching T.V. or playing a game at a table, playing with toys on the couch, blowing bubbles or playing catch.
Tall kneel
 

½ Kneel: (body up tall, keep leg out in front straight and not turned to side) 

Skills Addressed: Core strength, balance, weight shifting, body awareness

How to Adapt: Try this while: watching t.v, playing a game, playing a card game, reading a book, playing catch. Practice standing up from this position without using hands, switch which leg is up without using hands.

Half Kneel

Forearm prop on stomach (Keep body flat and straight, no pulling leg up on one side, No resting head on hands) 

Skills Addressed: Core strength, neck strength, works on visual skills, body awareness

How to Adapt: Try this while: watching T.V. or playing a game, playing with toys, reading a book, doing a puzzle
Forearm Prop on Stomach
 

W-sitting

By age 2, Children should no longer need to sit like this, as they should gain the trunk strength needed to support themselves allowing them to sit in a variety of positions as shown above rather than in this wider base of support position. Minimize or discourage prolonged W-sitting as continued W-sitting can cause increased hip, knee, and foot issues later in life and reduce trunk mobility which can impact the child’s ability to  develop proficient fine and gross motor skills. 
6 year old W Sit Position
 

Hands and Knees/4-point (Hands and knees shoulder width apart, weight even on hands and knees, no saggy belly)

Skills Addressed: Core strength, body awareness, joint strengthening, works on vision
How to Adapt: Try this while playing a game or doing a puzzle, watching tv, reading a book, doing an obstacle course
4-point positioning

Puzzles & Toys

3 Year Old Puzzle Activity

Skills Addressed: Visual perceptual matching skills, visual discrimination, bilateral coordination
How to Adapt: Decrease or increase the amount of cookies used, use as a memory game
Oreo Cookie Puzzle Game
Oreo Cookie Puzzle Game 1

Toy Suggestions for Developing Gross Motor and Fine Motor Skill Development
 

• Ride-on toys- develop strength, coordination, and balance
• Bikes, balance bikes,  Trikes, Scooters, Y-scooters, scooter board – develops strength, coordination, balance, visual-spatial skills
• Balance beams, stepping stones- develop balance skills, strength
• Tunnels- develops crawling for increased coordination, strength
• Jump ropes- develop strength, balance, and coordination
• Balls (beach balls, bouncy balls, texture balls, different sizing), beanbags, targets, velcro mitts, bats- develop strength, eye-hand coordination, and eye-foot coordination
• Variety of swings and playground equipment- develops strength, coordination, and social skills
• Board games- develop fine motor skills, turn-taking, and cognitive learning (ie: colors, numbers, concepts)
• Putties and playdoh- develops hand and finger strength, imagination, grasp devel
• Building blocks such as Legos,  KNex, wooden blocks, Duplos, Lincoln logs etc - develops spatial awareness, hand and finger strength, dexterity, bilateral coordination
• Dice games- develop hand and arch development, cognitive skills
• Puzzles- develops spatial awareness, visual discrimination, visual perception, parts to whole, concepts
• Coloring books, tracing books, free draw- develops visual motor skills, eye-hand coordination, hand strength, and grasp development
• Lacing cards and stringing beads- develops eye-hand coordination, visual motor, bilateral coordination, grasp development

Yoga Positions

Warrior Pose 

Skills Addressed: Balance, Focus, Whole body strengthening
How to Adapt: Increase length of time held, bend forward knee further, add deep breathing to position, do with eyes closed

• 3 year old Warrior pose
• 6 year old Warrior pose

Tree Pose

Skills Addressed: Balance, lower extremity strengthening, stretch
How to Adapt: Can begin with hands in front of body and progress to arms outstretched overhead, Increase length of time balanced, add deep breathing, do with eyes closed

• 3 year old Tree pose
• 6 year old Tree pose

Plank

Skills Addressed: Strengthening 
How to Adapt: Start on knees, add deep breathing, increase length of time held

• 3 year old plank pose
• 6 year old plank pose

V-Sit or Boat

Skills Addressed: Strengthening, Balance
How to Adapt: Can begin with bent knees and arms up at chest height and progress to straight knees raised up high and arms lowered down to waist level, increase time held, add deep breathing

• 3 year old V-sit
• 6 year old V-sit

Crab Pose

Skills Addressed: Balance, strengthening and stretching
How to Adapt: Raise stomach higher off ground, “walk” forwards, backwards or side to side in this position for longer distances

• 3 year old Crab pose
• 6 year old Crab pose