These fun scooter activities for kids are great for upper body strengthening, core strengthening, coordination, endurance, and more!
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If you’re on the market for a well-made, durable, and versatile product for kids, look no further than a little square scooter (this one is our favorite).
This little gem gets more use in our therapy practice than almost any other piece of equipment. Why? Mainly it’s because they’re just plain FUN! Nothing can get a kid more excited about therapy than whizzing down the hallway on one of these babies!
We therapists love scooters just as much as the kids because of their ability to target a whole array of skills in a fun and interesting way. In one therapy session with a scooter, we can work on core strengthening, upper body strengthening, coordination, and endurance – not to mention the awesome sensory benefits!
Today, we’re featuring 10 fun ways to use one of our favorite pieces of therapy equipment! Try a scooter with little ones at home, or keep one on hand for movement breaks in the classroom! We promise, your kids will fall in love!
10 Fun Scooter Activities for Kids
*Remember…safety first!! NEVER let a child stand on a scooter and always stay within arms reach to prevent injuries!
1 || Spider Web Crawl
Line up two rows of 3-4 chairs with 4-6 feet between the rows. Wrap yarn around the legs of the chairs, zigzagging back and forth between the chairs to create a “spider web”. Tell the child to sit on the scooter, pretending to be a spider. Have him make his way through the “web”, moving forward with his feet and lifting each piece of yarn up over his head as he scoots through.
2 || Superman
This one is always a crowd pleaser! First, be sure you have a large, clear space to play. Position the child in prone (on his tummy) on the scooter. Tell him that he’s going to fly like Superman across the room or down a long hallway! Hold onto his feet and give him a big push! He’ll have to work hard to keep his head, arms, and legs lifted as he moves forward!
3 || Body Bowling
Set up a pyramid with a few cardboard blocks or empty shoeboxes. Just like the Superman activity above, position the child on the scooter on his tummy and tell him to keep his arms strong out in front of him. Grab hold of the child’s feet and push him forward to knock down the pyramid!
4 || Scoot and Grab
This one is really fun with two kids competing against each other! Both kids will be in prone (on tummies) on their own scooters. Scatter a handful of small objects (e.g. checkers or poker chips) out on the floor – just barely within the kids’ reach when you push them forward on the scooters. Sit on the floor behind the kids, holding onto one of each of the kids’ legs or feet. Scoot the kids forward, giving them just a quick second to try to grab one of the objects before pulling them back. Whoever can grab the most objects wins!
5 || Push Off
This activity can be done in a few different ways to target different skills. The idea is to have the child push off of the wall to see how far he can propel himself. Let him try it on his tummy, either pushing off of the wall with his feet to move forward, or pushing off with his hands to move backward! Try it in sitting too, again pushing off the wall with either the hands or the feet!
6 || The Caterpillar
Here’s a fun one to work on teamwork! Give a scooter to each child in the group. Have them figure out how to hold onto each other, forming a long line. See if they can scoot forward with their hands like a caterpillar!
7 || Crazy Driver
This one is similar to our tape road activity for kids. Mark off a path on the floor using painters tape or masking tape. You can make one single line of tape or two lines to form a “lane” for your child to stay in. Get creative with the pattern – curves, zigzags, twists, and turns! See if your child can “drive” along the road in various positions (on his tummy, sitting on his knees, sitting on his bottom).
8 || Tornado!
There’s no better way to stimulate the vestibular system than by spinning! Give your kiddo a little twirl on the scooter in different positions (see above) or see if he can spin himself!
9 || Rope Pull
Position two chairs on either side of a large space and tie a rope between the two chairs around the very bottom of the legs so that the rope is almost on the floor. Position the child on his tummy on the scooter and see if he can pull his way from one chair to the other! Make it more interesting by placing the pieces of a puzzle on one chair and the puzzle board on the other chair – how fast can he complete the puzzle this way?
10 || It’s Your Turn!
No therapy session is ever complete until the therapist herself ends up on the scooter! J You won’t want to miss out on the fun either! Sit on the scooter and have your child pull you with a jump rope or push you down the hallway! A great one to add to your arsenal of heavy work activities!
[…] scooterboard (from Therapy Fun Zone) and get even more fun and creative ideas from this post with 10 awesome scooter activities for kids (from The Inspired […]