gross motor skills
3 year old skills
Jumps up and over a string 2” high with both feet together
Jumps down 18” with both feet together
Walks on tiptoes 10’
Kicks a stationary ball 6’ forward
Walks up stairs, alternating feet without holding onto railing
4 year old skills
Jumps forward 30” with both feet together
Hops 4 times on each foot
Stands on 1 foot for 5 seconds
Catches a playground ball with both hands
Walks down stairs, alternating feet without hold onto railing
5 year old skills
Jumps forward 36”
Gallops forward 10’
Stands on each foot for 10 seconds
Skips forward 10’
Catches a tennis ball using only hands
Easy home exercises
- Rolling (Child should be able to roll both directions with hands straight above their head.
- Spinning both directions (preferably slow to avoid overstimulation)
- Playing anything on tummy (if your child did not enjoy tummy time or had limited belly play before they began creeping or crawling, this milestone is a must for the beginning phases of ALL brain development)
- Creeping on belly (army crawling). Exercise easiest on a smooth surface, while wearing comfortable clothing and with bare feet.
- Crawling on hands and knees (this is especially important if your child had limited floor time, walked early/late or did not crawl for roughly 4 months=400 hours before he or she began walking)
- “Superman” (Lay on belly, straighten arms and legs, child should be able to hold for 30 seconds)
Balance
Use a bean bag to help work on balance. Don't have a bean bag? How about a small stuffed animal? Put it on top of your heads, feet, hands, elbows, and shoulders to practice different areas of balance! With eight different activities featured, this activity is a great way to improve motor skills as well as practice balance and coordination. See how long your students can balance their beanbags and make it a competition between students. The longest to maintain balance wins! Perhaps give a lollipop to the winner! Click the title to download!
balance on a painted line
balance on the curb
Practice Jumping with these songs
Jump! by Patti Shukla
Jump Up and Down by KindyRock
Hop Little Bunnies by My Little World of Song
stairs
Have your child practice walking over obstacles (such as a stick or jump rope) on the floor.
Start with 2-3 steps at a time and gradually increase the number of stairs as your child’s skill improves.
Practice balancing on 1 leg to prepare your child for placing 1 foot on each step during stair climbing.
Place 1 colored foot print (or a bright piece of tape) on each step as a visual cue to practice using a reciprocal pattern.
Bicycle Kicks: This is a fun exercise for children and helps to strengthen the leg muscles, abdominal muscles, and improve body awareness. As the child lies on their back, hold their ankles and passively move their legs forward and back, as if they are pedaling a bicycle. Sing the alphabet song or itsy bitsy spider (approximately 30 seconds) to make it fun. Repeat for a total of three rounds.
The Floor is Lava: A classic activity that doesn’t get enough credit. Enjoy this on any day when boredom strikes.
Paper Plate Skating: Grab a couple plates, step on them and skate around the house!
Lines of Colored Tape: Tape lines on the floor to act as a balance beam.
Jumping Game: See how far they can jump! (use chalk to mark how far and then see if they can beat their personal best)
A Flash Light Scavenger Hunt: Turn off the lights and hide some objects around the house for preschoolers to go find with a flash light. They’ll be begging for you to hide them again!
Target Practice: Set up a target practice for preschoolers to throw something at (whether its mud or bean bags)!
Hop Skip & Jump: Set up paper plates around the house or outside and have them jump from one to the next. If you have different color plates, there’s lots of options!
String Scavenger Hunt: String some string around the room, through chairs and set up treasures along the way to find! Have them follow it through, going in and out, under and over to see what they can find!
Tape Road: This will definitely get them moving and busy for the day! Tape a road throughout the house or room and let them drive drive drive!
Junkmail Throwing: Have a little indoor ‘basketball’ with junkmail, ads, or newspapers !
ideas from https://handsonaswegrow.com/gross-motor-activities-preschoolers/