by Jennifer Landrieu, Director
Gross motor refers to large muscles in our body (legs and arms), the same way that fine motor refers to small muscles in our body (hands). Running, jumping, leaping, and climbing are all fun activities you’ll see our Preschoolers participating in on a daily basis on our playground, in gym class, or in our indoor playground. Active play of any kind is important for a young child’s physical development.
On our outdoor playground, the children…
- pump their legs on the swings
- run, skip, gallop, and leap
- balance on our two balance beams
- do pull-ups on our twirling bar
- climb through the tunnels
- go through our tire jungle gym
- slide down our slides
- bounce on our animal teeter-totter
- pretend to take a ride in on our firetruck
In our indoor playground, the children…
- climb a rock wall
- slide down the slide
- balance on the balance beam
- climb up and down stairs
- roll down the wedge
- crawl through the tunnel
In our gym classes, the children…
- participate in a warm-up song that stretches their muscles
- learn basic sports skills and to follow multi-step directions
- begin to practice catching with balloons
- navigate an obstacle course
At home, your children can…
- pedal on their tricycles
- bounce, toss, and catch a ball
- play hopscotch
- practice using alternating feet going up and down stairs
- dance
- sing and move to “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”