Effective Preschool Gross Motor Activities
Body Awareness Activities

The preschool gross motor body awareness activities forms an essential part of the preschool child's perceptual development program.

The child should know their body and the functioning there of, before the development of the body takes place. Then the child is ready to develop his or her gross motor muscles.

It is essential for the preschool child to identify his or her body in position with their surroundings, and in the space around them.

Activities like these form their spatial orientation, and directionality. The preschool children who are sure of their position in space finds writing skills easier to master.

Materials Needed For the Activity:

1. creative-learning-activities-for-young-children
2. Mirror to view the child's body.
3. CD Player and CD. Cedarmont Kids Preschool Songs Collection.
4. Sheets of Paper.
5. Triangular Shaped Crayons. (to improve the preschool child's pencil grip)
6. Carpeted Space for Exercises.
7. perceptual-motor-lesson-plans

Procedure:

• The teacher should identify all body parts by naming them, and then touch them, for instance: This is my head, touch your heads.
• Next, the children will be instructed to touch their body parts on command, for instance: Touch your shoulders.
• The children will now be asked to touch different body parts with their eyes closed.
• The children will then touch body parts to body parts, for instance, nose to knees, or wrist to ankle, chin to chest.
• To end the children will be asked to put a specific body part to an object, for instance: nose to window, head to floor, finger to door.
• The children will next copy the teacher's actions, for instance: nodding their heads, clapping hands, wriggle their noses.



• The teacher will ask the children to complete the following statements: I see with my .... I hear with my ...... I touch and feel with my ........, and so on.
• The children will have an opportunity to view themselves in the class mirror. The teacher should guide them by showing they can use their hands to measure their bodies, for instance, my head measures the length of two hands, my neck measures the length of one hand, my body measures the length of three hands.
• The children will receive sheets of paper and they will be asked to draw themselves. This picture should be used by the teacher to evaluate the preschool child's emotional development. The drawing activity should be repeated throughout the year with regular intervals.
• The children should end the body part activity singing preschool body part songs.

Songs: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes:

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. Repeat, leaving out one word each time.

Where is Thumbkin? (Frere Jacques)

Where is Thumbkin?

Where is Thumbkin?

Here I am, here I am;

How are you today, sir?

Very well I thank you.

Run away, run away.

2. Pointer

3. Middle Man

4. Ring Man

5. Pinky.

Dry Bones: Spiritual. Ezekiel cried, "Dem dry bones!" (3x)

Oh, hear the word of the Lord!

The foot bone connected to the leg bone,

The leg bone connected to the leg bone,

The knee bone connected to the thigh bone,

The thigh bone connected to the back bone,

The back bone connected to the neck bone,

The neck bone connected to the head bone.

Oh, hear the word of the Lord! Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around, (3x)

Oh, hear the word of the Lord! The head bone connected to the neck bone,

The neck bone connected to the back bone,

The back bone connected to the thigh bone,

The thigh bone connected to the knee bone,

The knee bone connected to the leg bone,

The leg bone connected to the foot bone,

Oh, hear the word of the Lord!

Traditional.

gross-motor-spacial-sense-activities-preschool