Click here to read Burn Off Energy with an Indoor Gross Motor Activity for Preschoolers! on Hands On As We Grow®
Are you stuck indoors? Try Brigitte's simple energy busting gross motor activity for preschoolers!
I love a gross motor activity for preschoolers to burn off some extra steam. Bonus: this one uses balloons – a total win for kids’ activities!
There are so many ways to play with balloons, so I always keep them stocked at my house. Hitting a balloon back and forth as they try their hardest to prevent it from touching the ground is my daughters’ favorite balloon activity.
We love this easy indoor balloon badminton activity for kids!
Plus, it works on those large muscle groups and works off extra energy, too!
Burn Off Energy with an Indoor Gross Motor Activity
This time, I tried something different with a few basic supplies.
To set up your own indoor gross motor activity for your preschooler, you’ll need:
- balloons, any color
- yarn
- painter’s tape
- scissors
- permanent marker (optional)
First, blow up the balloons and tie off the bottoms.
I drew shapes on the sides and the bottom of each of the balloons (great for shape practice), but that is totally optional. You could also draw numbers, letters, or just leave the balloons blank.
After drawing shapes, I tied yarn to each of the balloons and hung them from the ceiling using painter’s tape. This is one of those supplies I just always keep on hand.
Is your closet fully stocked? Check our must-have activity supply list!
Then it was time for some running and jumping. Great gross motor practice and an energy buster!
Run & Jump Your Way to Energy Burning Fun
I set a challenge: who can tag or hit the most balloons by running and jumping?
My kids were thrilled to jump around in the house!
All I had to do was sit back and call out a color or a shape for them to run to and hit. With more than one kid participating, it became a race.
Who will get to the purple balloon first?
If racing and competing leads to some arguing or hurt feelings, then it may be best to give each of the kids separate balloons to run to and hit. My kids loved working out energy with this simple gross motor activity for preschoolers!
Since the shapes were drawn on the sides and the bottoms of the balloons, they were easy to see no matter where my daughters were standing.
I didn’t measure the yarn when I cut it, so the balloons ended up being different heights from the ground. But if you have really little kids, go with longer strings.
If the balloons are very low, it can be fun to try to hit the balloons with a head instead of hands. If the balloons are too high, something such as a paper towel roll or fly swatter can be used to hit the balloons.
Either way, it still gets the kiddos running and jumping and burning off some of that excess energy without wearing me out!
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