Gross Motor Equipment and Materials

Gross Motor Equipment and Materials
Skills Equipment Uses
Coordination Playground balls

Sport balls (football, soccer, basketball, tennis available in foam)

Large floor balls

Whiffle balls

Basket/hoop

Goal/net

Hula hoops

Bean bags, ring toss

Foam “noodles” or bats

Horseshoes (foam or rubber)

Bowling pins (plastic)

Ball catcher cups

Frisbees

Streamers/scarves

Throwing, catching, rolling,

Kicking, foot/hand dribbling, striking, throwing

Rolling, pushing, stretching

Throwing, catching, striking

Aiming, tossing

Aiming (kicking/throwing)

Twisting, rotating, spinning

Aiming, tossing

Striking, “fencing”

Aiming, tossing

Aiming, rolling

Tossing, catching

Tossing, catching

Twirling, back-forth, up-down

Balance Ball hopper (large ball with handle)

Beam

Rubber floor spots

Cup stilts

Bouncing

Balancing while moving

Controlled stepping/jumping

Controlled stepping

Agility Jump ropes

Mesh ladder (laid on ground)

Collapsible crawling tunnel

Cones (like small traffic cones)

Bases

Parachute

Scooter/roller boards

Tumbling mats

Jumping sacks

Twirling, jumping in rhythm

Stepping

Crawling

Navigating obstacles

Landing, stopping

Running under, stopping/starting

Stopping/starting, turning

Rolling, creeping, crawling

Hopping

Power Rubber activity bands

Tricycles

Wagon

Jump-off board (can be anything)

Stretching, pulling

Pedaling, turning, starting, stopping

Pulling, pushing

Long jumping

Speed Batons/sticks Relays

While older children might enjoy more complicated physical games with teams or a specified number of players and rule structures, such as soccer, children younger than age 6 don’t have a fully developed sense of the abstract concept of “rules.” Thus, games for children in preschool tend to be simple and require teacher guidance and modeling. Children under the age of 5 or those who have not yet acquired an understanding of rules are not yet psychologically prepared to be highly competitive (Gartrell, 2007). Young children play games for the sake of playing, such as those that involve running or skipping and those that include role-playing (i.e., pretending to be an animal, airplane, etc.). Modifying games to reduce competition and make sure everyone gets a turn to lead or follow nurtures a sense that all children “win” through successful participation. Table 8.4 describes familiar games or variations you might use that promote gross motor skills.

Parachute Games

A group of preschool children play with a parachute.Visions of America / Superstock

Playing with a parachute is noncompetitive: children work together to move the parachute while exercising their large and small muscles and using eye-hand coordination.

A particularly useful piece of equipment for the development of gross motor skills is the parachute, which is commercially available in different sizes for use with children of varying ages. The parachute is made of very lightweight fabric and circular, sewn together in wedges so that it will easily billow and move evenly when manipulated in different ways. If no parachute is available, a bed sheet can be modified to circular shape or used as is, but it will not react to the motions children apply to it in exactly the same way.

Working with a parachute requires coordination, as children must observe what everyone else is doing and time their actions simultaneously. It also develops agility, as parachute activities involve a range of motions with the entire body. Following is a short description of the use of a parachute with young children (adapted from the website for Hummingbird Educational Resources).

Getting started: When you are introducing the parachute, space children evenly around the outside edge and tell them to hold onto it with both hands. Have them carefully step backward until the parachute is taut. Then they must lower it to the ground. At your signal (choose a word the children will remember, like mushroom), have all the children pull the chute upward simultaneously. The chute will fill with air and rise up to form a dome. Practice this before moving on to other games.

Variations:

  • Running together under the chute
  • Letting go entirely and watching the chute rise
  • Putting a ball on top of the chute and coordinating different kinds of motions to move it around the chute
  • Having the children all go underneath chute and creep/crawl together to move the chute, making “waves” by moving chute up and down together, varying speed and range of motion
  • Operating the chute while all are sitting on the ground
  • Pulling the chute back and forth
  • Calling out one or more children at a time to run under the chute and back out before it falls
  • Having each child hold the chute with one hand and walk it around in a circle

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