Embedded Files
Below are various animal walks that you can incorporate into your day to have some fun and move at the same time. You can have them do the animal walks from one side of the room to the opposite side of the same room or walk from one room to another room. You can put puzzle pieces or another object down on the floor on one side of the room and then they have to retrieve the puzzle piece or object by being an animal below. Don’t feel obligated to do them all, just pick and choose what your child wants to do that day. You don’t have to spend a lot of time either, a few minutes here and there.
Below are various animal walks that you can incorporate into your day to have some fun and move at the same time. You can have them do the animal walks from one side of the room to the opposite side of the same room or walk from one room to another room. You can put puzzle pieces or another object down on the floor on one side of the room and then they have to retrieve the puzzle piece or object by being an animal below. Don’t feel obligated to do them all, just pick and choose what your child wants to do that day. You don’t have to spend a lot of time either, a few minutes here and there.
Crab Walk
Crab Walk
Looking for a quick, do-it-anywhere way to practice gross motor skills? Sometimes simply performing a motor skill is a perfect activity in and of itself, and crab walking is that activity.
What You Will Need: All you need is a child!
What To Do: Have your child sit on their bottom, place their hands on the floor behind them, push up, and start moving:
Crab walk to the bathroom to brush your teeth.
Crab walk to the door to get your shoes.
Crab walk to the kitchen and get a drink.
Crab walk anywhere. Inside, outside, at home, at school—it's as simple as that, and so beneficial!
***Usually Crab Walking backwards is easier to start but try both forward and backwards crab walking
BEAR WALK
BEAR WALK
In order to properly perform a Bear Walk, place your hands on the ground about 3 feet in front of you. Keep your buttocks high in the air. Step forward with one of your hands. Then step forward with the opposite foot. Step forward with the other arm and then the other foot. Continue forward in the manner. When you get to the end of the room you can either go backward or turn around and go the other direction.
Video of child performing a crab walk, bear walk, and mountain climbers:
Penguin Walk
Penguin Walk
Have your child lift their toes up in the air so they are on their heels. If they can’t do this after your demonstration, you might need to lift their toes up in the air for them to show them how to do it. They might need assistance with their balance so you might need to hold their hand as they penguin walk. If they don’t need hand held assistance, great, let them do it by themselves. Have them penguin walk around the house, to different rooms.
As a bonus challenge, try and encourage your kids to walk a "penguin egg" on their feet. Place a small ball or stuffed animal on top of their feet and see if your kids can waddle without dropping their egg.
SEAL SLIDE
SEAL SLIDE
Simply lay on your tummy, push your hands up until your arms are straight, and move across the floor while dragging your legs. The key with this animal movement is the legs don’t do any physical work, they just get pulled along by the arms.
SNAKE SLITHER
SNAKE SLITHER
Lie on your stomach and move forward trying not to leave the floor as much as possible, like an army crawl.
Frog Jump
Frog Jump
The frog hop is a classic animal walk that most kids know how to replicate. Simply squat like a frog and jump! Or turn it into a game of leapfrog if you have more than one child.
GALLOP Like a Horse- an exaggerated slide step composed of a step and leap
GALLOP Like a Horse- an exaggerated slide step composed of a step and leap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GmQ868ArAw
Start by choosing a lead leg.
Lift and thrust/spring the lead leg forward to support the body's weight.
Quickly bring the rear/trailing foot close to the lead foot to replace it as the same lead leg thrusts/springs forward again.
Continue springing the lead foot forward and replacing it with the trail leg
Do not allow legs/feet to cross over each other.
Repeat ____5-10___ times with the left leading & __5-10___ times with the right leading.
Review this activity.
Was this activity too hard?
Slow it down! Provide visual demonstration and return to slides until that is mastered.
Hold hands or hold your child at the hips.
DUCK WALK
DUCK WALK
Squat down and walk around from there. Keep your arms out or bend them to look like wings.
https://youtu.be/MN7KLLY2IP8
ELEPHANT WALK
ELEPHANT WALK
This walk is all about swinging your long elephant trunk. Put your arms together in front of your body and swing your homemade trunk from side to side as you walk. Don't forget to stomp your feet like big elephants as you walk too!
INCHWORM WALK
INCHWORM WALK
Tell your child to start standing up then bend to touch their toes. While their feet are stuck in the mud (the feet can’t move), have them walk their hands forward in small steps as far as they can until they’re in a push up position. Stand up and repeat. For an extra challenge, try walking hands back towards feet to stand back up as shown in the picture above.
Page updated
Report abuse