Summer is in full swing and while we hope all the kids are able to get outside to explore and have fun, the extreme heat we have had means kids are spending more time indoors.
However, with the right activities, you can keep your child engaged and building their gross motor skills.
7 Indoor Summer Activities To Build Motor Skills
Here are some indoor summer activities to build motor skills:
Yoga
Yoga helps your child work on their balance, strength, coordination, and motor planning. It also increases your child’s core strength and posture.
Some poses you can do with your children to encourage gross motor skills are:
- Cat and cow pose
- Ragdoll
- Star pose
- Butterfly Pose
- Warrior Pose
- Tree Pose
- Boat Pose
When doing yoga with kids, remember to make it fun for them. Take it slow in the beginning. Yoga is hard for some adults so it can take time for your little ones to improve balance and coordination, try out the more challenging poses as the learn and progress.
Simon Says
With Simon Says, you have kids practically practicing all kinds of motor skills and movements. Start by giving them simple instructions and keep moving on to more challenging instructions as they learn the flow of the game.
Some instructions you can give are:
- Turn around in a circle
- Stand/hop on one foot
- Clap your hands
- Touch your knees
- Do a silly dance
- Roll on the floor
- Do a pushup
- Slitter on the floor
To make it more fun, form a group of 4-5 children.
Dancing
Dancing helps children develop rhythm, coordination, balance, body awareness, and motor planning. Turn on the music and start dancing. Go for fun music that your children already know and like. Join in the fun with them.
Homemade Balance Beam
Just draw a line using chalk on the floor. That’s your balance beam. Instruct your child to walk on the line, without faltering. Keep practicing. You might want to increase the walking tempo as children learn to balance. You can even use an impromptu balance beam using a wire or taking it up one level.
Hopscotch
You’ve probably played hopscotch as kids yourself. All that jumping and skipping helps you improve balance, coordination, timing, and visual processing. In the beginning, it is okay if your child is using both feet to move from one square to the next. Later on, you can encourage them to hop on one foot. This not just improves balance but also builds muscle power.
Indoor bowling
Make sure to use a soft ball that wont break anything. You can also try different kinds of textures for sensory play.
Or you could just roll with the ball:
- Build a toy tower and ask your child to topple it down. Use the step, point, direct and roll the ball in the right direction to knock over the toys.
- Put a red solo up on the floor. Have your child lay on his/her tummy and roll a small round golfball sized ball toward the cup. This one is a little harder so use lots of praise!!
Indoor Obstacle Course
An indoor obstacle course doesn’t have to be very complex. Take objects from around your home such as a pillow, chair, or toys to create an obstacle course. Make sure your child practices a different range of movements while moving through the obstacle course. A few things to include in your obstacle course are stepping stones, tunnels, and a balance beam.
We hope these Indoor Summer Activities To Build Motor Skills will help you develop essential motor skills in your kids. If you’re concerned about your child’s motor skill development during the summers, reach out to us to talk to our expert occupational therapists.