Category: Gross Motor

Upcoming Training ~ Active Indoor Play

On By aprilzajkoIn Gross Motor, Trainings with April's Teaching TreeLeave a comment
depth of field photography of p l a y wooden letter decors on top of beige wooden surface
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

Title: Active Indoor Play

Date/ Time: November 21, 2019  6-8 p.m.

Location: Concord School

Instructor: April Zajko

Cost: $5.00 for non-network members of the Caledonia & S. Essex starting point networks

Register by emailing – Lynn Macie at learningatlynnies@gmail.com  (Please register by Nov. 16th)

Description:  Childcare providers know that healthy children are ACTIVE all day, but how can we arrange our learning environment to support gross motor play. This two-hour training will help childcare providers feel ready to support gross motor play indoors on days that they can’t get outside. Learn more about the gross motor skills children ages 0-5 should know, explore LOTS of ways to get children moving indoors, explore how to incorporate yoga activities into circle time and transitions throughout the day, and learn how to teach calming and self-regulation with slower movement & breathing activities.

Objectives:

  • Participants will define gross motor skills for children ages 0-5 years old and will create a binder of resources that will keep kids moving and engaged throughout the day.
  • Participants will explore a wide variety of indoor gross motor activities that will keep children engaged and burn off excess energy
  • Participants will learn yoga activities to use at circle time and transitions, as well as learning how to teach calming and self-regulation with slower movement activities.
  • Participants will explore ways to create a “Cozy Cottage” space in their program for children to use to self-regulate.

Snow Mazes

On By aprilzajkoIn Gross Motor, WinterLeave a comment

img_1131One really simple and fun activity to do outdoors is to create “Snow Mazes”. I like to head outside with my snowshoes on, and pack down a winding path with a couple of dead ends. (This could be created with boots, but will take you much longer.) At the end of the path I hide a large plastic tote by burying it into the snow. Sometimes the tote is pretty easy to spot, but the kids play along since they love the idea of hunting down buried treasure. What to offer as the treasure depends on what you have available. Some ideas to get you started include plastic outdoor toys, colored ice cubes, large chunks of snow, large ‘diamond’ ice chunks or icicles, or a stuffed animal brought from home.

Another option would be to hide treasures along the path and the kids could have a bucket to gather the items such as pine cones or colored ice cubes as they travel the path.

Sometimes these mazes are simple with straight lines so the kids run longer distances, and other times I create lots of twists and turns.

With one group of preschoolers these mazes always turned into an imaginative game of them playing that they were race car drivers, so I brought out a bunch of Frisbees to be their steering wheels.

Children also love to make these mazes their own – maybe suggest they create a pirate’s map first indoors and then create it once they get outside.

Have you made snow mazes for your children? I’d love to hear about them!