Summer gross motor activities give your child the chance to get out into that awesomely warm air and get moving. Seriously. What’s better than a fun-filled all-out physical activity session? Um, learning too! And color matching gross motor game will provide just that for your kids!
Color Match Motor Game
Your child is learning her colors. And she’s building her gross (large) motor skills. Why not combine the two?
This motor game helps your child to explore a rainbow of hues, get active and build up strength and coordination. Your child will make bean bags in an array of different colors.
After the bean bags are ready to go, your tiny tot will match them to colors of paper. How? By tossing them, of course. That’s right, she’s using those large muscles and coordinating movements to build up her gross motor abilities.
The best part about this summer game is that it has so many uses. Sure, you can take it outside to play in the warm summer weather, but that’s not all.
Learning and Development
- Gross motor- Build strength, coordination and balance
- Fine motor- Develop eye-hand coordination and finger muscle strength
- Color identification and recognition
- Math- Counting
- Sensory- Explore textures
- Early literacy- Letter recognition
Activity Materials
- Pieces of card stock paper in different colors
- Scissors
- A marker
- Craft felt or tissue paper in different colors- make sure they match the colors of paper
- Ribbon or yarn
- Plastic baggies
- Dry beans or rice
How-To Steps
- Fill the baggies half-way up with the beans or rice. Seal them. If you feel like they’re leaking, use a piece of packing tape to keep the baggies closed.
- Put the bags in the center of 8×10-inch craft felt or similarly-sized pieces of tissue paper. Honestly, we ran out of felt and had to try tissue. I’m not going to say it will stand up to throw after throw. But it will last at least one game. The important thing here is that the bean/rice baggie stays put. Your child can re-wrap it with more tissue later. Gather the felt or tissue up and around the baggie to form a pouch. Tie the pouch at the top with ribbon or yarn to make a colorful bean bag. Repeat until your child makes a rainbow of colors or go with a theme such as primaries or pastels.
- Write each color’s name on each piece of card stock paper. Have your child trace over the letters with a marker.
- Place the paper around your yard.
Playing Color Matching Game
Now that the papers are spread out, it’s time to play the summer gross motor game. Your child can pick up one of her DIY beanbags and look for the matching paper color.
When she finds the paper that matches she needs to stand near it and toss the beanbag onto it. If it doesn’t land on the paper, she can pick it up and try again.
Encourage creativity and ask your child to throw like a bear or toss the bag like it’s a boulder.
Your child can also get in a lower body workout during this activity. Instead of standing still and throwing, she can run, skip, hop and then toss.
Activity Extensions
Add in a math activity and ask your child to count how many times she gets the bean bags on the paper. Your child can also create patterns. Make duplicate beanbags and have your child line up the paper in an alternating pattern – such as red, blue, green, red, blue, green.
You can also set up a sensory exploration activity, using the bags. Ask your child to feel the beanbags and describe the texture. Now give her other items, such as an apple or a crayon, and have her compare how they feel.
If your kiddo is feeling adventurous, you can turn this activity into a water-soaked good time. Instead of using paper, swap in colorful plastic bowls. Fill the bowls with water and have your child toss the bags in to match the colors.
Are you looking for more summer activities?
Check these toddler and preschool-friendly favorites:
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