Spring Activities: Gross Motor Fun With Flowers

The arrival of spring has inspired a flurry of new spring activities here at The Inspired Treehouse!

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For this flower-themed gross motor game, we scoured our bathrooms for empty toilet paper rolls, gathered up pretty tape, found some colorful flowers and got to work! Pair this fun activity with this cute  friendship flower craft for kids or try this awesome watercolor flower project!

Check out these fun Easter basket stuffers for kids to inspire movement and hands-on play! Or try this cute paper flower bouquet craft!

Using Simple Props for Gross Motor Activities

You don’t need a lot of fancy prompts to engage children in physical activity. Sometimes the simplest materials are the best! Here are some examples of gross motor activities that can be done with simple props:

1. Hula Hoops: Hula hoop games are a great way to promote gross motor skills for kids. Children can use them for a variety of activities, such as hula hooping, jumping in and out of them, and tossing them to a partner.
2. Balloons: Balloon activities are an awesome way to incorporate hand-eye coordination into gross motor activities.
3. Cones: Cones are versatile props that can be used for a variety of gross motor activities. Children can use them as obstacles to run around or jump over, or they can be used as markers for a relay race.
4. Bean Bags: Bean bags are another great prop for gross motor activities. Children can toss them to a partner, use them for a game of catch, or balance them on different parts of their body as they move around.
5. Jump Ropes: Jump ropes are a classic prop for gross motor activities that can be used in a variety of ways. These jump rope games are some of our favorites!

What You’ll Need:

-Empty toilet paper rolls
–Decorative tape
-Colorful fake flowers. You could try it with real flowers too! Or make this paper tulip craft and use the tulips for the movement game!
–Duct tape or heavier tape that will stay on the wall

What to do:

Let your child’s creativity take the lead and tell them to use the decorative tape to cover and decorate their toilet paper tubes however they want.

Once the vases are made, tape them to a wall by running a strip of heavy tape or duct tape through the center of the tube.

Be sure to space them out a bit and vary the height at which they are placed.  Some can go high (so your child has to go up on tippy toes to get to it), some very low (so a squat position is needed to reach them), and some can be right at eye level.

You can then play with your flowers and beautiful new “vases” in lots of fun ways to promote movement, balance, coordination, and more!

1 || Roll a die.  Whatever number your child rolls is the number of flowers that they need to “pick” for mom and put into the vases on the wall!

2 || Have a set of stairs?  Place the flowers on top of the stairs and tape the vases to a wall surface near the bottom of the stairs.  Have your child practice going up and down the stairs to pick a flower and take it to a vase.

3 || We used a balance beam as a “bridge” to carry our flowers over the stream to grandma’s house where we placed them each in a vase for her!

4 || We also used that same balance beam as a log to walk on through a field of flowers, picking them up from the floor as we crossed and placing them into the vases at the end.  For this activity, we sprinkled the flowers along the floor at the side of the beam.  It is tricky trying to squat and keep your balance while on a 4” wide beam!

5 || Pull out those amazing scooters and ride the road to gather flowers for each vase!

6 || Need a bit of an extra challenge?  Put those vases up high along the wall and have your child climb up onto a stool or bench to reach them for added strengthening, motor planning and coordination!

7 || Make it a relay!  Place all of the flowers at one end of your play space and tape your vases to the wall at the other end.  Have one child pick a flower, run it (or skip, hop, jump, or gallop) to place it in a vase, and then run back to the group to let the next person take their turn!

Looking for other flower-themed activities for kids?  Try these!

Friendship Flower Craft

Felt Flower Craft for Kids

Origami Flower Activity

Fine Motor Flower Heart Art

Ring Around the Posies Gross Motor Activity