We always hear about fine motor skills being important for kids, but gross motor development is just as important. Today we have so many fun gross motor skill building ideas to practice and enhance the physical development of our little ones through simple activities, free play, ball games, and even everyday activities. Use these gross motor activities at home or in the classroom. Let’s get started!
Best Gross Motor Movement Games & Activities for Kids
A child’s gross motor skills are one of the most important skills little kids have to practice from a young age. Gross motor skills are important to help young kids perform everyday functions, such as walking, running, jumping, and more. They are abilities that let us do tasks that involve large muscle groups in our torso, legs, and arms, as they involve whole-body movements.
When kids work on their gross motor abilities, they’re able to do more complex activities such as ice skating, martial arts, playing hula hoop, and other fun activities.
That’s why today we have free resources to help kids of all ages exercise their gross motor movements through active play; from young children in preschool (or younger) to older children in primary school, we have lots of fun activities dedicated to improving physical child’s development in a variety of ways.
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Gross Motor Activities for Kids
We have different activities for different settings: some can be done in a jungle gym, others in preschool classrooms or during a scavenger hunt, and pretty much anywhere.
1. Gross Motor Skills for Preschoolers: Exercising Dice
Make an exercising dice! Use labels to mark the sides of the dice with some activities to have kids release their energy: jump, hop, stomp, clap, arm circles, crawl.
2. Freeze Tag for Preschoolers
You literally only need spray bottles, water, and preschoolers excited to play this freeze tag game. It’s a perfect summer game that also enhances fine motor skills and self-regulation.
3. Pumpkin Cup Stack Toss Game
This pumpkin cup stack toss game is quick and easy to make and helps strengthen gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It literally takes 15 minutes to prepare
4. All Twisted Up!! An Educational Finger Game
This traditional game is great at developing core and gross motor skills, while helping them learn their colors too.
5. Simple Games: Bean Bag Toss {Preposition Practice}
All you need to play this simple game that helps children work on gross motor skills is a dish towel and a bean bag. It also helps them with learning prepositions!
6. Pillow Stacking: A Physics Lesson in Balance
Here’s a fun pillow stacking activity to encourage gross motor skills and science skills that is so much fun, too. Let’s learn some physics!
7. Learn about Texture by Molding and Painting Aluminum Foil
Play with aluminum foil is a great way to learn about our sense of touch, texture and spatial reasoning as kids can ball the foil up into shapes, cover items and make imprints of them.
8. Learning Fun with Birdseed
This birdseed activity is a great way to enhance fine and gross motor skills as well as learning about birds.
9. The Floor is Lava “Don’t Step in the Lava!”
This is a fun hot lava game where the floor is lava in our living room and all you need is colored paper and tape. From Hands on as we Grow.
10. Lowercase Letters String Scavenger Hunt for Kids
This string scavenger hunt is not as fast as other activities as it takes some time to set up, but once you do, kids will have hours of indoor play fun. From Hands on as we grow.
11. Alphabet Ball
An “alphabet ball” is a low prep, active way to help kids practice the ABCs, and it’s so easy and inexpensive to set up. From Playdough to Plato.
12. Noisy Letter Jump Phonics Game
Here’s a fun and active way to learn letter names and sounds with young children! It’s perfect for 4-5 year olds and can be played in an outdoor play area. From The Imagination Tree.
13. Basketball Alphabet Game for Preschoolers
Work on letter recognition, fine motor skills, and more with this alphabet game from School Time Snippets.
14. Alphabet Pillow Jumping
This Alphabet Pillow Jumping activity Toddler Approved is a great way to get physical activity when little kids are stuck indoors and do some learning at the same time.
15. Outdoor Alphabet Hunt
This outdoor alphabet hunt is a fun way to learn letters and sounds and is perfect for kids of all ages as it can be adapted to their own levels. From No Time for Flash Cards.
16. Letter Sounds Race
Practice letter recognition and letter sounds with a fun game that gets kids moving! From Inspiration Laboratories.
17. Ball Theme Alphabet Activity: Kick the Cup
This ball theme alphabet activity is fun way to practice identifying letter sounds while kicking a small soccer ball. Kids will love the chance to move and learn! From Fun Learning For Kids.
18. Alphabet Activities: Grab and Pull a Letter Load
This activity combines outdoor fun with letter identification, and you only need a few simple supplies (rope, basket with holes, alphabet letters, index cards, and a marker). From Growing Book by Book.
19. Transporation Alphabet Relay
This transportation alphabet relay is such a fun way for kids to learn letters and get some exercise, while learning about different ways of transportation too. From Pre-K Pages.
20. Pool Noodle Learning Activity: Alphabetical Order Obstacle Course
Let’s race through this alphabetical order obstacle course using alphabet pool noodles! Great for practicing letter learning. From The Educators Spin On It.
21. Play to Learn: Musical Alphabet Game for Preschool
This musical alphabet game is a fun way to practice letter recognition and test phonological awareness of the corresponding letter sounds. Quick, easy, no fuss game you can set up in minutes! From Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.
22. Snowball Fight Learning
This snowball fight learning activity is perfect for the classroom. Kids won’t even know they are learning in the process. From A Dab of Glue Will Do.
23. ABC Ice Cream Gross Motor Game
To make this game, you’ll need ball pit balls and paper towel rolls, and a marker. That’s it! From Coffeecups and Crayons.
24. Fall Leaf Alphabet Movement Activity
This activity from Toddler Approved gets toddlers and preschoolers moving with Fall leaves while learning new words, talking about alphabet letters and sounds, and matching letters.
25. Ball In A Bag: Gross Motor Activity
Here is a fun, simple gross motor activity to work on visual tracking, ball skills, and proprioception motor skills. It’s simple to set up and it promises to engage the children in play. From Mosswood Connections.
26. Color Skee Ball For Toddlers and Preschoolers
This game will make your toddler feel like they are at the fair! Grab your plastic baskets, cardboard boxes, ball pit balls, and markers. From I Can Teach My Child.
27. Press Here Inspired Tossing Math Game for Kids
Kids will love making their own hands-on math game inspired by the popular children’s book, Press Here by Herve Tullet! It’s a great way to practice those gross motor skills while also practicing counting and comparing numbers! From Buggy and Buddy.
28. Walkin’ In The Jungle Gross Motor and Sequencing For Preschool
Come “Walk in the Jungle” with us and explore music and movement, listening skills, and a sequencing activity designed just for your own preschoolers! From The Preschool Toolbox Blog.
Want more Activities for your preschooler? Try these:
Which gross motor skill activity will your preschooler try first?