Gross Motor Activities
Gross motor development is a key component for a child to develop early on and continue to develop through the early years of life in order to create a solid foundation for all of the other motor skills that will be developing along the way.
Gross motor skills are movements that involve the larger muscles of the body and can range from activities such as walking, crawling, sitting, standing, or running to postural control and endurance and crossing midline.
In school, if these skills are not developed early on, the child will have difficulty with everyday activities such as sitting in chair with adequate writing posture or having difficulty accessing school environments independently such as P.E, classroom areas, art class, music class, lunch room, etc.
Gross Motor Activities for Home
- 40 ideas for gross motor activities to do with kids at home
- Great for kids who love to move and those learning their milestones
Gross Motor/Physical Activity for Classroom and Home
- OT Mom website for all things OT and activities for home and school to develop motor skills
- PDF Printouts for activities to do at desk and on school mat during circle time
Incorporating Physical Activity into the Schools
- We all know that kids these days are not getting enough physical activity during their day per American Heart Association requirements
- They are getting scheduled time for physical activity at recess, PE and occasionally during movement breaks in class but not all of the activity being done is in the category of moderate to vigorous physical activity
- Recommended moderate to vigorous physical activity is recommended for 60 minutes per day every day for children 6-19 years old
- Link to website has current research about impacts of physical activity on attention/focus, academic performance, happiness, etc.
Physical Activity Data Sheet.pdf