Materials and Equipment
In addition to permanent playground structures designed for climbing, swinging, and sliding, early childhood educators should have and regularly use a variety of materials and equipment to promote the attainment of gross motor skills. Table 8.3 provides a list of small equipment items and the type of development they support.
Active Games
The list of traditional games that promote gross motor skills is long and old. Many games such as tag and hide and seek that children play today have been used for centuries, handed down from one generation to the next. Children don’t always have access to equipment, and games with simple rules are easy to remember. The open-ended nature of games like these also makes them responsive to the coming and going of players, without a definitive beginning or ending.