Who doesn’t love pretending to be a superhero? We had a Superhero week at the clinic, and as a result thought it would be fun to list some gross motor activities that we came up with that your child could practice while pretending to be their favorite superhero!
1. Imitating various animals, such as a spider, while pretending to be Spiderman. By imitating various animals, children can work on coordination of their arms and legs, improve their motor planning, learn how to move their body in space, and improve their overall strength. Some animals to try include: bear, crab, spider, snake, horse, and frog.
2. Practicing jumping forwards, in place, down from a step or hopping while pretending to be Batman jumping from skyscraper to skyscraper trying to catch the foes and save the day! By practicing jumping and hopping skills, a child is working to improve their coordination, standing balance, and strength of their leg musculature.
3. Practice running “faster than a speeding bullet” like Superman does on both even and uneven surfaces. Running can help improve a child’s cardiovascular and muscular endurance, improve leg strength as well as improve coordination. For younger children working on floor mobility skills, have your child pretend to fly like Superman, lifting their head, arms and legs off of the floor, which will help to improve the strength of their neck and trunk muscles.
Be creative and allow your child to use their imagination to come up with activities that their favorite superhero might do!