Winter has officially been here for a few weeks and my kids are starting to go a little stir-crazy. Living in Minnesota, we go outside when the weather allows but we do a lot less physical activity than we get the rest of the year. I needed to come up with some gross motor activities for toddlers to keep my kids busy. When they stay physically active they seem to play together and nap better, which is a win-win in my book! Here are some fun gross motor activities that we’ve come up with this year.
Gross Motor Activities for Toddlers
Make hopscotch on the floor with painters tape: This is a really fun game for my three-year-old. We use painters tape to make a hopscotch board and she loves jumping over the lines. Sometimes she helps me design the ‘board’ so it’s not always pretty, but it’s always fun! Other versions of this would just be making boxes out of tape for the kids to jump from/to, or making tape lines for them to walk along. They can work on balance, coordination, and jumping!
Keep the balloon in the air: Pretty simple concept, but it keeps my kids entertained for awhile! We blow up a few balloons and toss them in the air, and then have to keep bopping them so they don’t touch the ground. They do a lot of running to keep the balloons up and it wears them out!
Make an obstacle course with couch cushions/pillows/boxes: You can really go crazy with this if you want. Build as many obstacles as you’d like (the kids can help!) and then let them run through the course. We like to do this through our living room and dining room. If they need more of a challenge, try giving them a time limit!
Laundry toss: I love to kill two birds with one stone with this game! I make our socks into balls and then the kids can toss them into a basket. With four people in the house we have never-ending laundry that the kids always want to ‘help’ with. This way they stay occupied while I fold the other laundry, and they have a bit of a challenge too!
Dance Party: This one is pretty simple but it’s not something I always think of. Right now my daughter is obsessed with the Moana Soundtrack so we’ll put on the songs and go crazy. Both of my kids love music and it helps me get moving too!
Yoga: This is one of my favorite gross motor activities for toddlers because it’s easy to do anywhere. I love practicing yoga and my kids are always under me when I try to do it in the living room. I recently bought a kids yoga DVD for them which is much more easy for them. Even when we’re away from home we can do the yoga moves they remember. Our one-year-old even gets into copying his sister!
Don’t touch the lava floor: If you don’t mind your kids climbing all over your furniture, this one can be really fun. Place some pillows on the floor between far-apart couches and tell the kids the floor is lava and they can’t touch it.
Make a parachute with a bed sheet: I remember that in elementary school gym class my favorite activity was the parachute. You can replicate this fun activity at home with a bed sheet-everyone grab a side and flip the sheet up and down. Make it extra fun by putting balloons or light balls in the middle and bouncing them all around the room!
Paper plate ice skates: This is such a cheap, easy activity and my daughter loves it. She stands on two paper plates and ‘skates’ around our wooden floors. We can’t do this for our one-year-old but he loves crawling and pushing a plate along with his hands!
Some days I’m motivated to create fun gross motor activities for my kids, and other days I don’t have the time or energy. On those days we rely on a few of our bigger toys that keep them active. We have an indoor trampoline, a ride-on toy, and I recently got to review a small climber from Step2 that is perfect for our son. He just turned one in December so he’s not able to do some of the more complex activities listed above. However, the Step2 Sports-tastic Activity Center is the perfect size for him and has a few really fun features!
The steps and slide are just the right size for our little guy. He loves climbing everything and the stairs and slide on this activity center are no exception.
Along with the slide, there is a cute little basketball and hoop for kids to play with and a soccer goal underneath. Our son loves putting the ball through the hoop, though we’re still working on getting him to throw it.
There’s also an attached baseball to hit with the bat. The tether rotates back and forth so it won’t break easily. Our little guy also uses the bat to knock around the basketball on the floor!
This is the perfect climber for older infants and young toddlers. It’s a very small activity center so it doesn’t take up much space, and it holds up to 45 pounds. We really appreciate having it for long winter days when we can’t play outside. Winter is long, so we’re giving away one of these awesome climbers to a lucky reader!
What are some of your favorite gross motor activities for toddlers?
Let us know in the comments below!
Open to the US only, ages 18 and up. Ends 1/16/17 at 11:59 PM EST.
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Disclosure: I (Amber) received this activity center at no cost to facilitate an honest review and compose this list of gross motor activities for toddlers. All opinions are my own. One winner will be randomly selected using the Giveaway Tools random selector and notified via email. Once notified, the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Google. Void where prohibited. Amazon links are affiliate links.
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