Body balance

Get your preschooler to try out different balance positions.

On one leg

On one leg and one arm

On tippy toes

On knees

Talk about which are easier and which are harder.

Balance beam

Set up a low balance beam on two bricks with a narrow plank of wood. Get your preschooler to walk across this with their arms out stretched. Ask them to walk again with their arms at their sides – which was easier?

Give them a broom to walk across with and then two equally balanced items (cool drink bottles) – which was easier?

Balance books

Practice balancing books on your head when walking. Encourage your preschooler to try with one. Master walking with a book then try speed walking. If a book is too hard use a bean bag.

Making towers

Give your child some wooden blocks or a deck of cards or any stackable items. Make towers as high as you can.

Scales

Make a simple scale with a clothes hanger and two exact plastic buckets attached to the end. Give them a variety of items to measure and balance out.

Dry pasta, beans or rice

Water outside

Sand

Soft toys

small wooden building blocks

Make your body go

Ask your preschooler to move their body by running, walking, jumping or hopping.

Rolling balls

Purchase a set of tennis balls. Roll them over flat terrain, down a slide, over smooth ground and over rough spaces. Ask which went fastest?

Use a soccer sized plastic ball. Get your preschooler to roll it, kick it or head it.

Wind movement

Make a paper fan buy folder some card back and forth. Let your preschooler make air move with it.

Give them a straw and a ping pong ball. Get them to blow the ball across a table with the straw.

Make paper airplanes and see which flies the best.

Buy or make a simple kite and go and fly it together on a windy day.

Incline and friction

Using cars or marbles (whichever you have) make a slope with a wooden plank. Tilt it slightly. Roll the marbles or cars down it. Then cover it with a towel and try again. Which was faster? Introduce the word “friction” to your preschooler.

Friction Friction is a force which opposes movement and cause the item moving to slow down.

If your toddler is not able to balance well, be sure to check out my Toddler Gross Motor Activities

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