With a background in physical therapy I work a lot on gross motor skills. What I’ve found over the years, is that I use a lot of fine motor activities to work on gross motor skills! Since fine motor skills and gross motor skills go hand in hand, it’s really no surprise that this is happening. Today, I’m sharing with you some of my favorite ways I use fine motor activities to work on gross motor skills.
Fine Motor Activities to Work on Gross Motor Skills
Below are ideas for utilizing fine motor activities or worksheets. All of the different fine motor activities I like to use to work on gross motor skills comes from my fine motor activities collection.
Using a Vertical Surface. I love being able to place different fine motor activities on a vertical surface and have kids work on gross motor skills like balance, core strength, and upper extremity stability all using the vertical surface.
High Kneeling – Great for hip and trunk stability while they perform a fine motor task on the table or vertical surface.
Half Kneeling – Great for core stability and balance while performing a fine motor task on the table or vertical surface.
Sitting on a Therapy Ball- Another great option for core stability and body awareness while performing a fine motor task on the table or vertical surface
Tummy Time– Another great option for input and core strengthening and a great option for working on shoulder stability. Yes! Tummy time is still important as kids grow. The chain links in the picture below are FREE in the freebie library.
Squat to stands – I like to have an activity on the table such as snap cubes, poms transfer sheets, or pattern blocks. I love having the kids squat down to pick up their manipulative from the ground and move it to the table.
One Foot on a Step Stool and One On the Ground – A great option for working on balance and body awareness with the fine motor activity on the table top or vertical surface.
One Foot on a Ball and One Foot on the Ground – Another great option for working on balance and body awareness that is more challenging than the step stool all while doing a fine motor activity on the table top or vertical surface.
Obstacle Courses – Including fine motor activities as an endpoint or during an obstacle course (using any of the techniques above) is another fun way I like to include different fine motor tasks into gross motor activities.
Fine Motor Activity Themes
I am a theme loving person so I have a ton of different themes I use. If I want to do a zoo theme, I likely would add a zoo fine motor activity from my collection to work on a vertical service or to use in an obstacle course.
Gross Motor Activity Ideas
So now that you know how to add fine motor activities to work on gross motor skills. Be sure to check out these ideas for gross motor activities!
Get Your Fine Motor Activities
You can choose from any of the fine motor activities from Pink Oatmeal to have ready made activities for you to go with any season, holiday or theme. This saves you time and energy.
