Flying

Gross Motor experiences are very important to young children. When I brought my son to his Dial 3 Screening they said he did great, but, if I wanted to work on anything in particular with him, work on his gross motor skills. I thought, "Huh..." We participate in many different gross motor activities... Skipping, Running, Climbing, Dancing, Wrestling, Riding Bikes, Pushing Scooters, Actions Songs... I mean the list can go on and on. So when they said that I thought, "He must be having a bad day." I am so not worried...

As the year winds down and we are playing outside more and more, I have a chance to watch the kids practice their gross motor skills. It is amazing to see the toddlers navigate the ladder to the slide, or the preschoolers climb to the top of the play house and jump/slide off the other side. They kick the ball around, they throw the bean bags, and even "play" baseball with the wiffle ball bat. It is truly amazing to see how far they have come.

We have had a lot of wet weather here lately though. So, we needed to find some indoor gross motor activities... Now I have a slide inside, bean bags, hopscotch, and bowling, but their favorite is...

They gather every pillow, blanket, dress up clothing, and soft thing they can find, put it in a pile and JUMP!!! Watching their little faces and bodies, I know the feeling is exhilarating for them. To be flying through the air and landing in that pile of stuff... the yelps, giggles, and belly laughs are contagious. The arts and crafts, science experiments, and yummy snacks are all great, but this is what it is all about!!!