Hello January! It’s the start of the New Year and the dead of winter. When I think of January gross motor and fine motor planning I think of all things snow and cold as well as a fresh start with the New Year upon us. I like to break January gross motor and fine motor planning down into different themes for each week.
January Gross Motor Planning
January Gross Motor PlanningHaving themes can make motor time fun as well as easier for you to set up. Breaking them down in weeks can add some order and some of the themes can even overlap a bit like the winter theme and arctic theme. There is no hard and fast rule about how many activities need to be done. The January motor planning ideas are aimed to make your planning easier. Be sure to read the full posts about each theme for even more detail and ideas!
Week 1 – January Gross Motor Planning – Fitness
The new year brings a lot of resolutions. For adults, this can often center around fitness. The first week back after the break is a perfect time to work on fitness with the kids and resolutions to move their bodies!
READ IN FULL ABOUT FITNESS PLANNING WEEK IN THIS POST
It’s also an awesome time to start a movement chart (get this free printable in the freebie library) to encourage movement. This is a good starting point.
There is also the option to get printables to use with your charts from Pink Oatmeal. These give you even more moves to work on, complete with movement charts. The movement charts are a great way of individually or as a group charting all the different ways you move your body!
This is a great time to check out all of the different videos and exercises listed below.
Core Strengthening Ideas – Lots of Video Ideas
Balance Ideas – More Videos
Lower Extremity Strengthening – Videos
Upper Body Strengthening – Videos
Bilateral Coordination Activities – Videos
Midline Crossing Activities – Videos
Maybe your new year resolution is to run a mile, 5k, 10K or marathon? This is a time to set up some fun fitness goals with the kids. Check out this fun idea on how to incorporate marathons 0r maybe its a goal of 1 mile or a 5k into the school day. No, it’s not about actually training for these just achieving a distance over time.
Fitness Stations are perfect for this week. (Fitness Station Version 1 or Fitness Station Version 2) They are simple to set up and the kids love them! Check out how these can be done and are ready for you to use.
Fitness Bingo – The best way to play this classic game that the kids will love!
More Ideas For This Week
Win It In A Minute Gross Motor Games
YouTube Channels That Promote Brain Breaks
Week 2 – January Gross Motor Planning -All Things Winter
There is no better time than January to focus on all things winter! This week the focus is on fun gross motor activities with a winter theme.
READ ABOUT THE FULL WINTER PLANNING IDEAS IN THIS POST
Start off the week by grabbing free hockey brain breaks from the freebie library. These are fast, fun, and efficient. In the land of hockey, (Minnesota) winter goes hand in hand with hockey.
The snowflake hop is a fun winter themed game that works on a variety of different gross motor moves.
I LOVE this game with blocks for working on balance. It also works perfect for winter as you can build your snow fort, knock it down, and build it again. There is a video that goes along with it too!
Make a winter themed obstacle course or add them to a current motor or sensory path! Get the Winter Themed Motor and Sensory Printables to create your course! This course is SO MUCH FUN. Be sure to watch the video!
Don’t forget about making it into a story! This free winter yoga story is a must try!
Fast, fun, and efficient is the goal with these winter brain breaks. Kids love these especially when they can draw different cards and perform the activity written on the card. Pink Oatmeal has them ready made for you!
The snowball relay is another fun way to incorporate movement with a winter theme. Place relay cards on one side of the room and race to the other side to collect the cards. Roll a ball such as a large therapy ball as your snowball (check out the video below). Get snowball relay cards here.
The snowball race using a large exercise ball is another fun activity and this could be played alone or incorporated with the snowball relay cards above. This game can be played as a team or as an individual.
Week 3 -January Gross Motor Planning – The Arctic
There is no better time to have gross motor revolve around the arctic then in January! Week 3 focuses on an arctic theme for gross motor planning.
READ ABOUT ALL OF THE ARCTIC THEMED MOTOR PLANNING IDEAS IN FULL HERE
Start off with Arctic Animal Themed Yoga ideas. Your kids will love these pose ideas and so will you. Grab ready made cards to make it even more fun!
Check out these cute arctic animal brain breaks. A fun way to pick your favorite animal and see what movement is behind it!
You need lots of warm weather apparel for the arctic. This is a fun gross motor relay game gets you ready to brave the arctic conditions!
This week is also a great week to finish up any of the winter gross motor activities that you didn’t get to and wanted to try out!
Week 4- January Gross Motor Planning – Winter Sports
There are so many great ways to incorporate winter sports into your motor planning themes. January is the perfect month to do this!
READ IN FULL ABOUT ALL OF THE WINTER SPORTS MOTOR PLANNING IDEAS HERE
Set up Winter Sports Stations. These are easy to use for physical education, in a classroom, or in therapies.
This is a great time to try some indoor ice skating. This can be done for figure skating or speed skating! This same concept can be used just adding poles to turn the activity into cross country skiing.
Do you have a scooter board? Go tummy down on the scooter board and have Skeleton races!
How about Bobsled Races? All you need is a laundry basket or box that slides on the floor. Have one child in the laundry basket while the other pushes the basket. Give everyone a turn to push the basket!
Try ski racing. Tape a piece of tape to the floor and jump side to side. Use a timer and track how many jumps happen in a designated amount of time.
Grab your free ice hockey brain breaks in the Freebie Library to get started with moving with a winter sports theme this week!
January Fine Motor Planning
I don’t want to leave you without some great fine motor planning activity ideas too for this month.
Winter Sports Fine Motor Activities are a favorite that I like to use during Winter Sports Week and Fitness Week.
Winter Fine Motor Activities are great for Winter Week and Arctic Week.
Bonus FREEBIE
Martin Luther King Jr. Day also falls in January. Pink Oatmeal has included a free movement printables perfect for creating a sensory/motor path or obstacle course. They go really well with the sensory and motor path building accessories resource! Get this in the Pink Oatmeal freebie library today!
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