by Matt Mitchell, PT, DPT

Kids need to have fun! In fact, you could call it a child’s full-time job. Active play leads to developing gross and fine motor abilities. Adults have to workout to keep our bodies in shape, whereas children need play to function fully as little explorers of their environment. But not all play is created equal! Let’s take a look at some functional activities that therapists at The Shea Center commonly use to promote development. All of them can be done at home with your child today!

1. The floor is lava

Set up many obstacles on the floor. They can be pillows, blocks, stuffed animals, shoe boxes, or anything to be stepped on. Your child can then step from obstacle to obstacle avoiding the floor (because its hot lava!) This activity promotes balance, single leg stance, agility, and coordination.

2. Animal races

Pick your favorite animal and race away! The crab walk develops hamstring, triceps, and core muscles. The bear crawl is great for strengthening proximal hip muscles. The flamingo hop promotes single leg balance and power production. The frog jump is a fantastic way to develop jumping skills.

3. Balance beam on curbs

Heel to toe walking on a balance beam helps develop important balance skills. Children first walk with their feet spread apart to widen their base of support to prevent falling. As they grow and become more confident, they begin to walk with their feet closer together with a narrower base of support. Curbs are a great obstacle to practice balance while walking!

4. Mini trampoline

Jumping on a trampoline is great for developing lower extremity muscles. Try singing “Five Little Monkeys”, play red-light / green-light, tie a balloon overhead to swat promoting vertical jump, or perhaps even jump on one foot.

5. Balloons

There are a plethora of activities your child can do with balloons. Swat them back and forth keeping it off the ground to develop coordination. Hold them between your knees and race to build hip strength and balance. Race carrying balloons in a kitchen spoon to build fine motor control. Or even fill them with water for some summer fun!

6. Peanut ball

The peanut ball is a great object to play games that work on balance and developing muscles. Children can straddle-sit on the ball while you rock the ball back and forth to challenge their balance. They can lay on the ball on their tummy and walk out on their hands to increase their core strength.

7. Bean bags

Your child can toss beanbags at targets to improve their throwing skills. Try having your child walk with beanbags on the tops of their feet to work on keeping their heels down. Balance a beanbag on a head to improve balance.

8. Sand

Sand play is excellent for sensory integration. Kids learn from touching and playing with different textures. Try adding in different elements to your sand box like dried beans, sponges, and other types of textures for kids to explore.

9. Simon Says

The sky is the limit with Simon Says! Ask your child to stand on one foot, touch their toes, jump up and down, and kick a ball. You can use this game to practice many different important developmental techniques.

10. Pool noodles

Another creative toy for active play is the pool noodle. Try making a pool noodle horse for your child to run through obstacle courses and jump over objects. You can also use pool noodles to work on trunk rotation by swinging at objects placed throughout the room, use them as hurdles to step over, or walk on them like a balance beam.

11. Scooter board

The scooter board is a fun way to work on upper extremity strengthening. Kids will love to race across the room on it. They can also sit on the scooter board and pull or push with their legs for great quadriceps or hamstrings work.

12. Pipe cleaners on colander

This activity gives kids an opportunity to practice fine motor pinch and grasping skills, lacing skills, and interact with a novel texture for sensory integration. You can also make the activity educational by teaching colors or patterns.

13. Bubbles

Bubbles are a great toy to keep children entertained while they work on holding a position such as hands and knees, half-kneel, and balance on one foot. These activities are great for developing lower extremity strength. Bubbles also provide great motivation for kids to work on reaching to pop them developing shoulder girdle muscles and fine motor control.

14. Beads

Stringing beads can help develop fine motor control. Beaded necklaces are great toys for kids to pick up and put on caregivers or dolls. This can be set up to have the child perform transfers from sitting to standing, raise up on tip-toes, or cross body reaching to develop gross motor skills.

15. Suction cups

Suction cup toys are great for kids to gather and put-on and take-off of windows and mirrors. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes to work on grasp and pinch activities. A child also gets to work on reactionary balance when they take them off as they must overcome the resistance of the suction and react to the sudden release to keep their balance.