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Indoor Gross Motor Fun
By Sandy Fleming

In many parts of the country, winter weather makes for fewer opportunities for outdoor play. The temperature in some areas is downright frigid, and damp or snowy weather is in the forecast more often. But no matter what the weather, kids need opportunities to exercise those big muscles each and every day.

Everyone needs a balance of mental and physical activity to stay healthy. Children can concentrate on learning and focus on lessons best when they have an outlet for excess energy. But how can you provide this without sacrificing safety or the well-being of your furniture??

One answer is to create an indoor obstacle course. If you are homeschooling, you can even make this activity into an academic learning experience! Choose a theme for your course, such as an historical event or Bible story, and name the obstacles to reinforce the ideas you wish to teach. For example, a child studying famous explorers might climb mountains, cross oceans, or crawl through caves. A study of the digestive tract may lead to obstacles, such as sliding down the esophagus or inching through the intestines. Challenge older students to generate creative names connected with a theme to add another dimension to learning. You will find that this sort of reinforcement will help prod memories of kinesthetic learners as well.

Be creative with furniture and space to set up your course. Try to include as many methods of locomotion as you can. Don't make the mistake of limiting your course to walking or running! You can include rolling, sliding, crawling, army crawling, somersaulting, and even crab walking or bear crawling. Tap into reading skills and map skills by making and/or using signs, direction sheets and course maps.

Use furniture and household items to add interest to your course. Children can move around, under, over, and through obstacles. Tables are great for crawling under. Add a blanket to make a cave. Send children up and over stools or small step-ladders, around chairs or other objects, and over pillows or cushions. Use sections of newspapers as stepping stones. Stairs can become mountains, and players can crawl, scoot, or slide on them. A darkened room can simulate nighttime and add a touch of excitement. Young children will enjoy tactile obstacles, such as areas of crumpled newspapers or soft tissue, to crawl or roll through.

In short, your choices for obstacles are only limited by your imagination. All that remains is planning a course through your creation. Older children may enjoy the added excitement of timing their own performances. Some may like a sense of competition with others and some may prefer to compete with themselves. However you choose to set it up, allow your children to experience the fun on your next indoor play day.

 

Sandy Fleming is an educator, author and workshop facilitator. She resides in southern Michigan with her husband and three daughters. Sandy leads workshops for daycare providers and parents in the region, tutors students, volunteers for Girl Scouts and her church, and teaches online classes for adults and children. She loves to make new friends, so please drop her an e-mail at kids@busyparentsonline.com

 
 
 
 

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