Toddler Activities for Motor Skills
Toddlers always seem to be on the move---running, climbing, building or destroying. All of these activities build their motor skills. When toddlers move their whole bodies in different ways, they are building their gross motor skills. When they move their hands and fingers in different ways to accomplish a task, they are building their fine motor skills. You can introduce your toddler to various activities that can build both types of motor skills---gross and fine.
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Building With Blocks
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Many toddlers enjoy both building with blocks and knocking down their creations. Fortunately, building with blocks can also help them with their small motor skills. Younger toddlers will enjoy merely stacking blocks into one tall tower until it falls down, and the process of stacking one block on top of another is enough of a challenge. You can encourage older toddlers to try to stack a long block atop two tall blocks to create a tunnel, which toy cars and trucks can go through. Although this process seems simple to adults, it can be very challenging for toddlers.
Walking in a Straight Line
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To improve toddlers' gross motor skills, you can give them practice walking in a straight line. One way to do this would be to use masking tape to create a straight line going from one end of the room to the other. Toddlers would then take turns walking on this line as if it were a balance beam. If you can procure a long, narrow piece of wood, you could use that as a follow-up activity. Because the wood lays directly on the floor, a toddler who falls from it should not get hurt at all. With both of these activities, you would need to model for toddlers how to walk on the straight line without stepping off of it, one foot in front of the other.
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Jumping Games
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Toddlers often develop the skill of jumping after watching their peers doing it. They find the action fun and challenging, but you can make it even more exciting if you create games out of it. Show toddlers how to hop around the room like a frog or a rabbit. Give toddlers a sturdy box and encourage them to take turns climbing onto the box and then jumping off of it. Lay a stick on the ground outside and show toddlers how to jump back and forth over it. Any of these activities can work with both younger and older toddlers, although younger toddlers' jumps may resemble more of a skip until they can get their feet to work together correctly.
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References
- Photo Credit toddler playing football image by green308 from Fotolia.com
