Dr. Seuss has written some of the most entertaining children’s books, and to celebrate his birthday, we have created a Dr. Seuss themed gross motor activity list inspired by some of his books and the characters that we have grown to love!
- HOP ON POP! – To work on hopping, find some items to set up in a hopscotch pattern around the house! You can use color spots, pieces of paper with items drawn on them, pillows, you name it! Set it up in various patterns and work on hopping on one leg!
- THE CAT IN THE HAT! – We know that Dr. Seuss loves a good rhyme! Find some pieces of paper and write several words on them that rhyme and spread them around on the floor in a room in your house. Start by standing on a word, then jump to the word that rhymes with it! You can also walk to them, run to them, hop to them, step to them, etc!
- FOX IN SOCKS – Using socks can be a quick and easy tool for all kinds of gross motor tasks, especially in place of bean bags if you don’t have any at home! To work on toe clearance and single leg balance that is needed while walking and for other functional tasks, take a pair of rolled up socks and place them on the top of your kiddo’s foot. Set up a bucket in front as the target and have them try to keep the socks on their foot as they lift up their foot to place the socks in the bucket, as it works on activating the muscles on the front side of the lower leg and can be a dynamic task to work on balancing on one foot. You can also use rolled up socks as an item to work on catching and throwing!
- OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO – Plan an adventure and check out a local playground or park to work on gross motor skills such as climbing, balancing and running/jumping! A local favorite we have heard a lot of fun stories from is called the Magical Bridge Playground in Redwood City! Any park or playground is great for getting out to enjoy the nice Spring weather and work on those gross motor skills!
