Children like playing, but did you know that playing can make your children happy and train their gross motor skills as well? Do you want to know the activity examples of gross motor skills for children aged 4 – 5 years old that they can do while playing? You are able to read about 7 examples of gross motor activities below.
The Reasons Why Gross Motor Skills Need to be Trained
Gross motor skills are skills that involve the movement of large muscles such as the muscles of the arms, legs or muscles throughout the body. Gross motor skills permit your children to sit, crawl, stand, walk, kick, and run.
In the motor skills, there are locomotor skills or moving position, object control, and balance.
The important thing that you need to note about the gross motor development of a child is that it develops differently from a child to another depending on the stimulation and physical growth. To make your child’s gross motor development develop according to his age, you need to train and stimulate their gross motor skills.
If you wonder why you have to train and stimulate your children’s gross motor skills, you are able to read the explanation below about why you have to train the children’s gross motor skills from an early stage.
1. To support children’s activities
Gross motor movement is a strong foundation to support the playing and learning activities of the children. For example, to be able to sit or stand up stably, children need to have good gross motor skills.
2. To make children independent
Previously, your children needed to be held anytime they walked. But then, as their gross motor skills improve, they will be able to walk alone without help from their parents. So, it makes them more independent.
3. To instill confidence
Because of the normal development of children’s gross motor, they will be able to play and get along with their peers. They are able to do anything according to their age so that they can be confident.
Examples of Gross Motor Activities for Children Aged 4-5 Years Old
We can say that early age is a golden age. It is an important time to stimulate the children’s gross motor skill ability. One of them is to invite them to move actively.
When children are 4-5 years old, their gross motor skills have actually developed well, but it does not mean that you do not stimulate them. It is because if children are only playing passively, such as playing with gadgets, their gross motor skills will decrease.
In the explanation below, you are able to read some examples of gross motor activities for children aged 4-5 years old. You are able to invite your children to do these activities while playing so that the activities will be fun.
1. Playing Jumping Rope
If your children play jumping rope, it can help them to burn calories so that they can avoid obesity. This game also can help them to increase their locomotor skills when they jump with their feet.
2. Walking in a small sidewalk
You are able to take your children out of the house and play on the sidewalk. You can ask them to walk on the edge of the small sidewalk. Then, ask them to be able to balance their body and ask them to try not to fall and step the street.
3. Jump on One Leg
After your children can jump with their feet, then teach them to jump with one leg. To make it fun, you are able to do it while playing. Doing it can train their balance and also train the strength of their feet.
4. Imitating animals’ movements
You are able to choose one of the animals and then ask your children to imitate the animal’s movement. For example, if you choose a rabbit, then ask them to jump like a rabbit. In this game, there are a lot of gross motor aspects that are trained by your children including locomotor and non-locomotor.
5. Inserting a ball to a basket
Playing ball and inserting it to a basket is useful to train their manipulative motor skills. The thing that you have to do is to provide small balls and a bucket.
6. Playing Soccer
When your children are playing soccer, actually there are a lot of aspects that are trained such as locomotor skills when they are chasing the ball and manipulative skills when they are dribbling and kicking it. This game is usually done by boys, but girls can also play this game.
7. Playing Roller Skates
When your children are 4-5 years old, you can start to teach them to play roller skates or ride a two-wheeled bicycle. It may take longer times until they are proficient and it is okay. The process of learning to play roller skates will train their balance and locomotor skills.
