Gross Motor Skills

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What are Gross Motor Skills?

Gross motor skills allow us to make big, powerful but controlled movements. The development of gross motor skills are essential for building your child’s body strength. Your child needs good gross motor strength in order to complete a large number of everyday tasks, such opening doors, walking and brushing their teeth.

Gross motor strength is also absolutely essential for learning to read and write; which is one of the reasons why physical development is one of the key areas of learning in the Early Years Framework. Without good core strength we would struggle to hold ourselves upright in order to complete tasks like sitting on a chair or carpet. Equally, we need strong backs, arms and shoulders so that we can support our bodies and control a pencil. When you break down the skills needed in order to learn to read and write it really is quite fascinating! (… to me, at least!)

In this post I will highlight a number of everyday activities which support the development of gross motor strength. A number of these you will do anyway, but I wanted to mention them so that you can see the value in what your child is doing.

Everyday Activities that Develop Gross Motor Skills

• Walking
• Running
• Crawling
• Riding a bike or scooter
• Bouncing
• Swimming
• Rolling
• Balancing
• Carrying heavy objects like large branches found in the woods or rolling an old tyre (you can get these for free from most mechanics)
• Climbing through tunnels
• Playing in the playground
• Climbing / swinging in trees
• Digging in sand or the garden
• Dancing
• Play fighting

Stop & Think: Next time you take your child to the park observe their play and the gross motor skills they are developing. Which muscle groups are they using the most? See the playground as your child’s gym and training ground for getting ready to write.

Have a go: Observe the play your child is engaged in and have a go at mimicking it (it’s really hard!) By doing this you will feel for yourself the muscles that are being developed through this type of play.

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 1

Play Fighting

Like all forms of play, play fighting is really, really important! As well as building physical strength, mobility and coordination, there are loads of other amazing benefits to play fighting with your child.

The Benefits of Play Fighting

For lots of children play fighting is a really special time where they get to experience uninterrupted attention and physical contact with the people who love them the most. It is best that play fighting is learnt at home as it will not be tolerated at nursery or school.

Why Physical Contact is Important:

• helps your child to feel safe and loved
• develops a sense of trust and security
• supports with the development of a strong attachment

Skills your child will develop through play fighting:

• gross motor control (how hard to pull and push)
• what is and isn’t acceptable play fighting behaviour
• how to play by a strict set of rules

FUNKY FACT: It is found (in children) that play fighting actually decreases the use of physical aggression towards others.

Stop & Think: If the thought of play fighting really stresses you out, take the time to problem solve how you could facilitate some sort of play fighting at home.

You are the boss! Create your own strict set of rules / boundaries for play fighting. You could just begin with a game of foot wrestling. You and your child sit on the floor facing one another. Use only your feet to pin one another to the floor for a count of 3 seconds. As you get more confident and your child gets better at following the rules you might want to increase the level of play fighting you get involved in.

Top Tips to Support Play Fighting at Home

Top Tips When Play Fighting

When watching play fighting I find it helpful to think of a pack of lion cubs rolling around pawing and pushing one another. Think about all the skills those little cubs are developing through their play and the importance of those skills to their future ability to be able to look after themselves. Likewise, think about the skills your child is developing whilst they are play fighting. Try to put aside all of your preconceived judgements about play fighting to see the benefits.

If your child is getting a bit ‘heavy handed’, increase the amount of play fighting time at home with an adult. My husband and I have begun to tell when our son needs some play fighting action. When we notice his behaviour getting a bit, shall we say, physical or he’s getting easily angered we simple ask, “Do you want to wrestle?” The answer is always, “YES!” After about 10 minutes of wrestling we find he is significantly calmer.

Teach your child to say, “no” or “stop”. Teach your child to say these words when they have had enough of play fighting and want the activity to end. Equally, they must have the option not to engage in play fighting if they don’t want to. This will also teach your child that when someone else (like yourself) says, “stop,” they must stop immediately. They will also learn that if someone else doesn’t want to wrestle that’s okay too.

REMEMBER: Play fighting should never involve you or your child getting hurt or marked. If this happens play fighting is not taking place. The emphasis is on play and the activity should be more of a wrestle than a fight. Sit down with your child before the activity begins and clearly explain the rules and boundaries. Remind them that they only take part in this type of play with people to want to play fight.

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 2

The Great Outdoors

We all know that getting out is sooooo good for the soul! Making time to breath in the air and give thanks for creation around us brings life to our souls. This is the same for our children, so get them out and exploring the fascinating world around them!

Getting out and about is also a great way to help your child develop their physical strength and stamina. Take the time as a family to get to know your local area and discover new outdoor places. The National Trust website is a great resource with helping to find exciting new days.

When out and about encourage your child to run, climb, swing and balance (why not get involved as well). Although it can feel uncomfortable, there are huge benefits to allowing your child to take part in activities (such as climbing rocks) which seem risky.

TOP TIP: When on a day trip take a rucksack and pack it with all the items you will need such as: coats, gloves, jumpers, snacks, drinks and a first aid kit. When you child begins running around and climbing, they will get hot and sweaty. Don’t let the need for them to carry all of their belonging get in the way of their physical exploration.

Why Risky Play is Important:

• gross motor strength, balance and coordination
• emotional resilience and perseverance
• an awareness of ones own capabilities
• being able to access a risky situation
• being able to make sound judgements about risks involved
• learning how to make safe choices or how to make an environment safer
• understanding the consequences of making choices which are unsafe
• problem solving and thinking creatively

Engaging in risky play at a young age and under the watchful eye of a caregiver is the safest way to learn about managing risk effectively. This type of play is essential and acts as a preventative measure for when children enter adolescence and are more inclined to want to make risky choices. It is of course the overall responsibility of the adult in charge to evaluate the risk and decide whether or not the choices the child is making are too risky (in that they could cause serious harm or danger).

TOP TIP: Think about how you dress your child before going out on a day trip. Particularly if you have a little girl; think about the type of clothing (including shoes) that will allow them to use their bodies to the fullest extent. It might also be worthwhile thinking about hair styles as well (especially if your child has long flowing hair).

Sand Play

Love it or hate it, sand is where it is at! Whether a sand box in your garden or a beautiful sandy beach sand is a great tool for supporting your child’s physical development. Even running on sand requires a lot of core strength and balance, let alone all of the digging and patting.

Stop & Think: Look at the image below. List all of the muscles you think are being strengthened and skills which are being developed during this activity.

Answer: Muscles that are being strengthened; legs, bum, back, shoulders, arms, hands, core. Skills that are being developed: gross motor, coordination, balance, problem solving (the sand kept falling back into the hole), creative expression (imagination & role-play), knowledge & understanding of the world (real life experiences).

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 3

Yoga – Enchanted Wonders

Have you ever had a go at a yoga class? If you have, you will know that is is HARD WORK! The amount of strength that is needed is unbelievable and so you will understand why Yoga for kids is so valuable. The kids and I have really enjoyed using these Enchanted Wonders Yoga cards. They are a great resource for supporting gross motor development (particularly core strength) at home. In addition, you can use these cards to help with creative expression, language development and emotional intelligence.

Have a Go

A few times per week sit with your child and give them the choice of cards they want to play with. Read the card and enjoying completing the activities. Take your time with these cards, your child will need to develop their strength and stamina. Do the activities for as long as your child is interested and then move onto something else. Small chunks over a long period of time makes a big difference.

In addition to developing gross motor strength, these cards are great because they can also be used to aid your child with:

• beginning to recognise letters of the alphabet
• reading numerals and counting out loud
• understanding and following instructions
• maintaining concentration
• cross lateral development
• imagination and role play
• social and emotional development

For more information about how you can get the most out of using these cards visit:

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 4

Jingly-Jangly Jungle

What You Will Need:

• a room suitable for climbing
• long pieces of string or wool
• a sense of fun!

Get Set up to Play:

1. With your child use the wool or string to create a web across the room you are playing in.
2. Once you’re both happy with the web that has been created start playing. The game is to not touch the string as you pass from one end of the room to the other.
3. You could add a competitive edge and see how fast members of the family can move through the Jingly-Jangly Jungle.
4. You might even want to hide objects throughout the jungle and see if they can all be collected.

SAFETY FIRST: Please remember children should never be left alone to play this game due to the potential risk of the string or wool.

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 5

Garden Play

Playing in the garden is a cheap and easy way to provide opportunities for your child to develop their gross motor strength. Digging, patting and cutting are all enjoyable and impactful activities for building up muscle strength and body coordination. Children love the responsibility of using ‘adult tools’ and enjoy seeing the end results to their hard work. Planting food producing plants helps with developing your child’s understanding of food production, growing, looking after living things and healthy eating.

If you are unable to grow plants at home then why not enjoy a family day out to a fruit picking farm? Try strawberry picking in the summer and pumpkin picking in the autumn. Just google ‘fruit picking near me’ and suggestions should come up.

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 6

Muddy Play

Why are children so drawn to playing with mud? Mud is incredibly sensory! We know that children benefit hugely from sensory play as it allows them to learn by using their whole bodies.

Mud is fun and we also know that enjoyment for learning is key to aiding with memory and social development. When children learn having loads of fun and using their whole bodies this has a huge impact on their social and emotional wellbeing as well as language development. When a child is having fun they are more likely to talk about what they are doing and involve other people in their activities and thought processes.

Mud Kitchens – URGH!

You don’t need to make a fancy mud kitchen in order to support this type of learning. If your child wants to play with mud they will find it! Allocate a space in your garden where it is okay for them to dig independently so that they can have access to mud. Again, this doesn’t need to be a big allocated area. For example, our children are allowed to dig underneath the hedges that boarder our garden. The ground is hard and shaded so we can’t use it to grow anything but the kids love wrestling with the hedge to dig there. We also provide access to water so if they want to turn the hard dirt into a muddy mess they can do.

Feeling stress out?

That’s okay.

Stop & Think: Mud can be quite stressful, so to help with managing the stress of this type of play take the time to think through these questions:

1) Am I okay with my child playing with mud? If no, why not?

2) Where is my child allowed to dig in the garden?

3) When is it okay for mud play to happen?

4) What is my plan of action for when mud play is over? (We do a full body strip down in the garden and then carry them straight into the shower.)

5) Finally list down any stresses that you have around mud play. Work through each one to find a reasonable solution.

If by the end of this exercise mud play still feels too stressful for you, that’s fine. Say no to it at home and find alternative sensory activities for your child to enjoy.

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 7

Assault Course

If you can, get your hands on some crates, pallets, left over decking and old tyres. You and your child will have so much fun creating assault courses in the garden. Assault courses are great for developing muscle strength through lifting, and coordination and core strength by balancing. This type of open ended play is also brilliant for problem solving and team work. If one of the materials is too heavy for your child to carry, problem solve with them how it can be moved rather than just picking it up for them. The solution could be as simple as them asking for your help, but it’s best that that conversation is had rather then you just doing it.

Do you remember the 7 areas of learning from The Early Years Framework? Try to also remember that all the areas are related, so through a physical development activity your child can also be building the skills of language and communication as well as personal, social and emotional wellbeing.

Alternatively, you can use chalk outside to create an athletic track, this could include running, hoping, balancing and throwing. Together can get really creative with designing these tracks and end up having lots of competitive fun as a family. Why not invite some friends along to join in as well?

No Space? No Problem

If you don’t have the space or resources to make an assault course outside you can make an indoor one instead. Put masking tape on the floor in the shape of a maze and see if your child can walk along the taped path. Add a touch of role play and pretend that the floor is lava or that it is a crocodile swamp! Add additional challenges by walking along the tape on tiptoes, sideways or even backwards.

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 8

Den Building

(A great indoor or outdoor activity – whatever the weather!)

In addition to developing muscle strength, open ended activities like den building will help teach your child to plan ahead, problem solve, work as part of a team, use their imagination and develop their language and communication skills.

Hunt around the house and see if you have the following:

• Tarpaulin, old bed sheets, large pieces of fabric
• Tent pegs
• Pegs
• Washing line or string

TOP TIP: Although this activity is great fun, be prepared to deal with some frustration. Den building is challenging (which is good) but your child might get a bit cross with themselves to begin with. Try to see this as an opportunity to support your child with managing their feelings effectively in order to keep going. Bear in mind that the activities are challenging because they have not yet fully developed their gross and fine motor skills or their cross-lateral coordination. Read more here.

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 9

Riding a Bike

Learning to ride a bike is a really effective way to build up: coordination, cross-lateral integration, core strength, balance, leg, arm and back strength. There are a lot of gross motor skills involved when riding a bike so this is a great activity for supporting your child with getting school ready.

NO MONEY? NO PROBLEM: Buying bikes can be really expensive. Try to think of creative ways you can get your hands on a bike (legally!) In the left hand picture my son is riding an old bike given to us by a friend. My husband was keen for him to learn to ride using a balance bike before pedalling so he spent the time taking off the pedals and the chain. We made no mention that the bike was a girlie colour and so it didn’t bother him at all. He very much enjoyed riding around town on it despite it’s appearance. Facebook Market place and eBay area also great places to find second hand bikes.

Balance Bikes

Balance bikes are bikes without wheels. The purpose of this type of bike is to allow the child to learn to balance (whilst sitting down) before they have to coordinate with pedalling. The child effectively runs along the ground whilst sitting on the bike. When they manage to build up enough core strength they will be able to lift their feet off and free wheel.

Warning: children can get end up going really fast on balance bikes so please make sure you teach them how to use the breaks before this happens!

Once your child is really capable on the balance bike you can move onto a bike with pedals. Because they have built up their core strength and balance they should learn to ride their “big bike” quickly. In the photo on the right, my son learnt to ride his ‘big boy bike’ on his first attempt. We were absolutely stunned and he was incredibly proud!

Gross Motor Skills: Idea 10

Walk

Only boring walks are boring!

Building up your child’s walking strength and stamina is so good for them! It provides you and them with a sense of independence and at the same time builds up their gross motor strength. Walking is a great activity for getting school ready as your child will need a great deal of stamina to get through a school day. My children were on a strict walking regime in preparation for their first term at school! This gave them both a real advantage in terms of being able to ‘cope’ through their tiredness.

I’ll be honest, walking can be boring, but only if you go on boring walks! Find places to discover as a family that are exciting and FREE! In the picture below we are exploring an area within the region of Snowdonia, Wales.

Try to say ‘No,’ less

This has been a huge challenge for me and my husband. We are very good at accessing risk and putting boundaries in place to manage behaviour. This has its huge benefits but we have also had to learn to say ‘no’ less. When out and about it is important for children to have a go, explore and take some risks. Allowing your child to explore more freely when out walking will make the activity more enjoyable for the whole family. Ask yourself these questions;

Is there a serious risk to health?

What is the worst that could happen?

If you are comfortable with the answers, then try your hardest to say,

Go on then, I’m watching, I know you can do it!

or…

Come on, let’s do it together.