Large motor indoor play is so important in the winter months – for your kiddos and for you. Sometimes it’s fun to make a theme out of it!

We are stuck inside. Because it’s in the negatives in the outside world. Also, my kids have horrible runny noses that I just can’t keep up with anymore. Given all of these factors, I try so hard to add some large motor indoor play to our routine. TRY is the operative word. I can tell that adding some into our day definitely helps get the wiggles out and I’m not yelling at them to calm down all afternoon.

What are examples of large motor activities?

Large motor activities (or gross motor activities) are activities that require movement of the arms, legs, feet and/or entire body. They really help exercise and are so important in keeping kids calm and releasing their wiggles.

What are large motor skills for preschoolers?

• Balance beam walking
• Running
• Jumping
• Hopping
• Skipping
• Climbing
• Walking

What are some large motor activities for preschoolers?

• Hopping in place
• Hopscotch
• Racing
• Throwing
• Animal Action games
• Scooters
• Rough housing (yes, it can be beneficial!)

When I need inspiration, I head to the Dollar Tree and browse the aisles there. I can usually find something to do when walking through and this time, these Valentine’s Day decorations caught my eyes.

If you have kiddos that prefer fine motor and more academic activities, check out this Valentine’s Day activity.

These specific foam hearts are glitter – so if you don’t like glitter, you can just grab foam sheets and cut them out. Upon further investigation, they do have regular ones on their website, which means some stores might have them.

All we did was place them out on the rug and then picked one of the activities below.

This was the spacing for my 5 year old. For my 2 year old, I spaced them much closer together.

This could not be easier! Here are the different ways you can play…

Large motor indoor play alternative activities

• Jump from heart to heart
  • Pretend the floor is lava!
  • Hop on one foot or hop with both feet.
  • Play 3 strikes – if they miss a heart 3 times, they’re out
• Write letters on the hearts
  • Call out a letter and have your child jump from one letter to the next.
  • If they are able to spell their own name, ask them to jump from letter to letter to spell their name.
• Stretching – work on stretches while moving – Kind of like Twister.
• Use a dice or pull a card
  • Assign a movement to each number. When the dice rolls that number, perform that movement. IE, 1 is jump in place, 2 is use your hands, etc.
• Board game – turn it into a board game with the die. Roll a 3, move up 3 hearts. Place the hearts in a line.
• Using painters tape, create a tic tac toe board and use the 2 different colors of the hearts as different markers and play tic tac toe.
• Music – turn on some music and encourage the kids to move to the music on the hearts.

How did you play with them? Tell me in the comments!

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day craft, check out this post from last year – DIY Valentine’s Day canvas.