Here are a few Thanksgiving-themed gross motor activities that might help your family have fun and get moving together!
Turkey Trot: This year there are tons of virtual turkey trots that give you flexibility to walk/run/roll at the location and for a distance that is best for you and your family. For many of them, once you submit data from your trot, you receive a prize or completion metal. If you are looking for something less formal, set up a course at home or in a place in your community to trot through on Thanksgiving Day or any other day this month that suits you.
Fall Leaf Search: This involves both crafting and movement. Print off fall leaf outlines, color or paint, and then cut them out. Once you have a stack of leaves, hide them in the house or in the yard. See how many the kids can find!
Pumpkin Hopscotch: Similar to fall leaf search, this is a chance to get creative before moving. Print off pumpkin outlines, color or paint, and cut out to use for this activity. Once you have a stack of pumpkins, arrange them in a hopscotch format. Start with a simple set up such as 1:2:1 and build from there. Once the pattern becomes easy or loses its novelty, switch it up by adding more to the end or rearranging to something else like 1:1:2. If your child is not yet hopping, you can jump between feet together for the single pumpkin and feet apart for the double pumpkin. Feel free to give your child help in whatever movement is best for them!
Turkey Bowling: Another chance to get artsy! If you have play bowling pins already, dress them up to look like turkeys by using construction paper, feathers, googly eyes, markers, paint, or any other material you have on hand. If you do not have bowling pins, try using paper towel or toilet paper rolls. Place out your decorated or homemade pins and have your child roll a ball to see how many pins they can knock down!
Chalk Corn Maze: Use sidewalk chalk to create a corn maze to walk through. Reference outlines from the internet as needed to create a start, an end, and some trickery along the way. Depending on your child’s level you can add thanksgiving creatures to the path to bring in more challenge such as a scarecrow saying jump 5 times to pass or turn around in a circle to pass, etc. They could also present challenges in other realms of development like count to 10, spell your name, recite the days of the week, etc.
Try these out to add some creativity and fun to November!
And check out our Find the Turkey Interactive Digital Story
And our Pumpkin Patch Fun!
