• Published by Theofania Natasya Rukma, S.Psi from Blubridge Center 

Gross motor skills are movements that involve large muscles, such as walking, kicking, jumping, and climbing. The easiest activity to do to improve gross motor skills is playing on the playground. There, children will certainly perform various gross motor activities, such as climbing, running, or hanging.

However, during this pandemic, we are forced to stay at home, and reduce activities outside the home. However, this does not stop your child from playing while improving their gross motor skills. So, what can be done by the parents to train gross motor skills while at home? Here are some activities that can be done.

1. Dance & Freeze

Material           : a gadget to play songs

How to do       :

• One adult is responsible for tuning and pausing songs. He can turn on and off the song at any time he wants
• As long as there is music, there will be dancing. Once the music stops, there should not be any slightest movement

2. Walking at different speeds

Material           :

• A large enough area
• Duct tape / masking tape
• Some dolls or toys
• Two large buckets or containers (for putting toys)

How to do       :

• Divide the play area into (at least) three sections using duct tape / masking tape
• Place the bucket or container before the first section (start point)
• Place dolls or toys, after the last section (goal point)
• Each section indicates a different walking speed. For example, in the first section, the child must walk very slowly. Then in the second section, the child walks with usual speed, and in the last section, the child has to run
• After passing the last section, the child takes one doll or toy that is in the container at the goal point
• Then the child must return to the starting point to put the doll or toy in the bucket at the starting point. Do not forget, the child must keep walking with the certain speed in eac sections.
• Do this until all the dolls or toys that are in the container at the goal point have been brought to the starting point.

3. Explore and find

Material           : any objects

How to do       :

• One adult instructs the child to look for an object. The instructions can be a description of the object (e.g “Find a green object!”)
• The child (and if possible, another child or other adult) searches for objects according to the instructions given (any object that is green)
• Then, the child gives the object to the intructor

4. Move Like Me

Material           : -

How to do       :

• Parents make a certain move
• The child must imitate the movement
• Then, the child make a movement
• The parents imitate the movement
• And so on

5. Move Like Me, advanced version (according to the child's age and his or her development)

Ingredient       : -

How to do       :

• Parents make a movement (called movement I)
• Children imitate movement I
• After the child finishes imitating movement I, the child makes movement II
• Parents demonstrate movement I, then imitate movement II, then make movement III
• The child demonstrates movement I, movement II, then imitate movement III, then makes movement IV
• And so on, until one person imitate / demonstrate wrong sequences of movement.

The activities above can be combined with each other, so the game can be more interesting and complex. However, it should be considered, do not let the game become too complex for the child, so that the child does not get bored quickly.

Note that basically, the movements made by children that ‘moves’, are actually gross motor skills. So, if parents do not have time to prepare time to do the activities above, parents can ask their children to do simple activities, such as exercising, cycling, going up and down stairs, and so on.

Theofania Natasya Rukma S.Psi

BluBridge Center

References :

https://www.yourtherapysource.com/blog1/2020/03/23/gross-motor-skills-and-activities/

https://discoverybuildingsets.com/blogs/dbs-articles/gross-motor-activities

Gross motor skill, motoric skill, indoor activity, pandemic, improving gross motor skill, children activity, indoor games

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / Gross Motoric / Motorik Kasar / Education / Pendidikan / Improving gross motor skills while at home

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