Indoor Gross Motor Activities
These fun indoor games are perfect for developing kids’ gross motor skills! Simple to set up and great for getting out extra energy. Do you have a gross motor, sensory seeker? Do you have a VERY active child? I do, so I created these super easy indoor gross motor activities to enjoy anytime! For different variations also check out our line jumping and tennis ball games too!
These gross motor activities are extremely useful for children with sensory seeking needs!
All children will have fun with these gross motor sensory games. Grab a roll of painters tape, a heavy ball or object to push, and some plastic eggs. Move aside the furniture if you can to make a large space or just create one line!
What do I mean by Proprioception Input & Vestibular Sensory Play?
What is proprioception input? It is input from muscles, joints and other tissues that help to create body awareness. Jumping, Pushing, Pulling, Catching, Rolling and Bouncing to name a few are all common ways to do this! What is vestibular sensory input? It is all about movement! Some movements in particular like swinging, rocking, are hanging upside down are good examples!
6 Gross Motor Activities!
Create as many lines as your space allows using different angles for each one!
1. Walking the lines heel to toe and however else is fun!
2. Jump the lines different ways and twist the body to move around the lines!
3. Roll the weighted medicine ball over the lines! Our you can push a weighted object such as a small container filled with soup cans. You may want to put a dishtowel underneath, so it slides easier
4. Walking the lines carrying the weighted medicine ball! (no picture)
5. Sitting on the floor, pushing and rolling the weighted medicine ball back and forth!
My son did enjoy having the medicine ball bump into him! We used this as an opportunity to count while we rolled too. Together we counted up to 150. Rolling the weighted ball is always appealing to him. He always enjoys counting or doing the alphabet along with it! His sensory needs are being met so he can focus on the task!
6. Race to collect the Easter eggs and then put them back!
The next day he wanted to use the lines again. I took out a bag of plastic Easter eggs. I set one at each end or switch in the line for a total of 30 on the floor. First I had him clear one line as fast as he could and drop each egg in the bucket. Then he had to put them all back as fast as he could. Lots of quick turns! He did one line at a time. Once all the eggs were replaced, I had him do all the eggs at once! He finished by lining them up and counting them!
I hope you enjoyed our simple indoor gross motor activities! We sure did! I am confident that these gross motor sensory games gave my son a good amount of proprioception and vestibular input. Plus they are great energy busters!
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More great sensory processing play ideas to enjoy {click photos}
Katie @ Happilyevermom
February 27, 2014 at 5:32 pmI LOVE how you used the ball and eggs to extend this activity. Really brilliant! I’m tucking this away for when my son is mobile. He will definitely NEED this!!!
Bonnie a.k.a. LadyBlogger
February 27, 2014 at 8:53 pmThese are GREAT ideas that ANY family can do! Thank you so much for this…indoor gross motor always seems to get lost when parents think of things to do…
Lauren
February 27, 2014 at 9:07 pmThis is FABULOUS! I love all of the variations and the different ways you introduced the sensory and motor components. From a therapist’s perspective, I can tell you that you hit the nail on the head with these activities. I will be using them in my treatment sessions with my kiddos at school. Great job!! Thank you for posting them on Movement Monday. Heading back to pin and share!!
littlebins
February 27, 2014 at 9:18 pmAwesome thank you so much for the feedback. I can only write from a mom’s perspective and how we make it work at home! We have a fun obstacle course for today planned!
Faye
February 28, 2014 at 2:49 pmWith the extremely cold weather and snow/ice storms that we have been experiencing lately, we haven’t been going outside much… only to scoop up some snow…and getting in the large motor activities have been somewhat limited in my home daycare. I have plenty of tape, Easter eggs, and floor space to implement this activity. I really like how you created various paths to encourage a variety of skills and ways to exercise. The weighted ball adds a great touch as a regular ball may roll too fast and and have less control, plus it definitely helps with a motor development workout. As always, YOU ROCK!
Jenny Accinelli
January 30, 2016 at 9:24 pmGreat activity! Gross motor skills are so important to kids development. Check out this great video about a bucket bridge that we used to teach our son to climb the stairs https://youtu.be/yKcu3fIJhP4