Effective Preschool Gross Motor Activity
Spatial Sense

indoor-and-outdoor-games-and-activities

Chasing and wrestling activities help improve a young child's spatial awareness.

Spatial orientation and directionality activities forms a very important part of the perceptual development program.

These skills will assist the preschool child with reading and writing skills.

Activity 1: Climbing Frame: Chasing Game for Two:

Materials Needed for the Activity:

1. Climbing Frame.
2. Two Preschool Children.

Procedure:

• The children can use their imaginations and pretend to be a hungry prey animal chasing their prey.
• The first child will climb up the climbing frame, pretending it is a tree.



• The second child will start at the bottom and chasse the first child at the top of the climbing frame.
• If caught the children should swap rolls and the hunter should become the prey, and the prey should become the hunter.

Activity 2: Obstacle Course:

This simple obstacle course activity will teach a child to climb, roll and crawl over, under, to the right - and to theleft side of obstacles.

The child will learn to place their bodies in the space around them, and improve their directionality at the same time!

Materials Needed for the Activity:

1. Items for Obstacle Course (cushions, rugs, chairs, hoops, cardboard boxes and blankets.)

Procedure:

• Place the cushions down, as if the children are stepping on stepping stones.
• Gradually make the obstacles bigger, higher, and wider. The child will have to make a plan climbing over, or go round, go round the sides of the obstacle.



• The obstacle course can be set up in the garden as well.
• Making use of the climbing frame, garden furniture, and the garden hose, letting the children walk on the hose, and balance at the same time.

Activity 3: "Stuck in the Mud."

Procedure:

• The preschool children will run around in the garden and one child will chase the other children, and try to catch them.
• Anyone caught has to stand still, feet apart: "stuck in the mud."
• The child can be "rescued", by any other player, crawling between the child's legs. The child can then run off again.
• The last child left unstuck will chase the other children again. Enjoy!

Materials Needed for the Activity:

1. Batons for each team.

Procedure:

• The group of children should be divided into equal teams.
• Each team will receive their own batten, to start off with.



• Each team member has to run to a specific place, touch it with the batten, then run back and pass the baton to the next team member, who runs off to do the same thing.
• The first team to complete the race wins. Have fun!