12 Animal Walks for Kids Who Crave Sensory Input

Need ideas to get the kids moving? Try these sensory animal walks for kids. They get kids moving and burning off that excess energy!

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Last week we received our first official dump of snow and the cold arctic air came with it. Just like that, we're shoveling snow and bundling up to brave the -30 C wind chills.

Wind chills like that though mean that we can't always spend a lot of time playing outdoors. So it doesn't take long for the kids to get a bit squirrely with our long cold winters.

Thankfully, we can burn off excess energy indoors with these 12 fun animal walks for kids. They're also a great way to provide proprioceptive and vestibular sensory input to my sensory seeking kids.

A version of this post originally appeared on the CBC Parents website.

Why Sensory Animal Walks?

You might be wondering: why do animal walks in the first place?

Well, these silly walks make exercise fun for kids, encouraging them to get creative and engage in some imaginative play, all while burning off excess energy. They're great for rainy or cold winter days or for a quick body break at home or at school.

They are also highly regulating and provide calming sensory input. Specifically, proprioceptive and vestibular sensory input through heavy work (more on that here). In other words, these animal walks help kids receive calming deep pressure to their joints and limbs, help strengthen their sense of balance, and develop body awareness, among many other things.

Animal walks also help develop a child's core strength and muscles.

As an added benefit, animal walks require no additional materials. You simply need some open space, you body, and a little imagination.

Animal Walks for Kids That Will Get the Kids Moving!

You probably remember doing lots of these animal walks yourself when you were a child, but, in case you need some further inspiration, here are 12 animal walks for kids. They'll be moving and giggling in no time!

1. Frog Hop

The frog hop is a classic animal walk that most kids know how to replicate. Simply square like a frog and hop. Or turn it into a game of leap frog if you have more than one child.

2. Seal Slide

Personally, I find the seal slide super challenging as an adult so it's definitely a great challenge for the kids too. To do the seal slide, simply lay on your tummy, push your hands up until your arms are straight, and move across the floor while dragging your legs behind you.

3. Penguin Waddle

Who doesn't love penguins? They're so adorable when they walk. Your kids will love pretending to be a penguin too. To do this animal walk, simply keep your arms tight against the side of your body then gently waddle side to side as you walk.

For an added challenge or twist, try and encourage your kids to walk with a penguin egg on their feet. Place a small ball or stuffed animal on top of their feet and see if your kids can waddle across the room without dropping their egg.

4. Snake Slither

Lay on your tummy and wiggle along the floor like a slithering snake. This exercise requires a lot of energy and strength to slither across the floor. It's also hilarious to watch!

5. Bear Walk

Here's a classic animal walk that you might remember from your childhood. Simply walk on all fours like a bear, keeping your arms and legs fairly straight as you walk.

6. Crab Walk

Another childhood classic! This one involves leaning backwards on all fours and walking around backwards.

7. Kangaroo Jump

Jumping is a great way to burn off loads of energy. To do the kangaroo jump, keep your  legs together, bend the knees a bit, and jump around as high as you can. You could also encourage your kids to hold a stuffed animal in front of them as if they have a kangaroo pouch of their own.

8. Duck Waddle

Your kids will love pretending to be a duck with this simple duck waddle. To do this exercise, squat, tuck your hands into your armpits to make duck wings, and flag your arms as you walk.

9. Donkey Kicks

Donkey kicks are ideal for kids who are extra energetic. Start by getting on all fours. Then simply kick your legs out and up.

For a fun challenge and twist, stack some pillows or cardboard boxes and use your donkey kicks to knock them over.

10. Inchworm Crawl

Move inch by inch with this silly animal walk. To do it, keep your legs straight, bend down, and place your hands on the ground right in front of your feet. Next, walk your hands out in front of you until you get into a pushup-like position. Then walk your feet up to meet your hands all while keeping your arms and legs as straight as possible.

11. Elephant Walk

This walk is all about swinging your long elephant trunk. To form your trunk, put your arms together in front of your body. Then swing your homemade trunk from side to side as you walk. Don't forget to stomp your feet like big elephants as you walk around!

12. One-Legged Flamingo Hops

This animal walk is great for working on balance because it's all about one-legged hops! To do flamingo hops, stand on one leg, hop, and then land one-legged on the opposite leg.

Some Final Notes & Ideas on Doing Animal Walks

Feel free to get creative and let the kids invent their own animal walks too. Maybe they're want to be dinosaurs or horses or sea creatures next. The possibilities are endless!

You could also try doing competitive animal walks. For example, have a crab walk race and see who can cross the finish line first.

Need visuals? Try using this free Google Slides deck of animal walks in teletherapy, at home, or in your classroom.

I hope your kids have fun doing these animal walk exercises!

How to Make a DIY Sensory Tunnel

A simple sensory tunnel DIY tutorial. Below you'll find out how to make your own homemade sensory resistance tunnel out of lycra or spandex.

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I have always wanted to sew a sensory tunnel since they are so expensive, especially when you consider the fact that they are just a piece of stretchy fabric.

So me being me (and frugal as can be!), I made mine (as well as the two stretchy resistance bands) for only $25. 

Another bonus of making a sensory tunnel myself? I could make it any color I wanted. Or rather any color the kids wanted. Okay, let's be honest, any color that was on the clearance racks haha

But seriously, even if you don't think you can sew, you can easily managing making this DIY sensory tunnel.

DIY Autism Sensory Tunnel: What You'll Need

To make a homemade sensory resistance tunnel of your own, you will need:

• Spandex in the color of your choice - 3 meters long (or approximately 3 yards long) - J picked bright yellow, which is fun, but totally hard to photograph as I discovered...

• Sewing machine

• Scissors

How to Make a Homemade Lycra Sensory Tunnel

The spandex was a bit too wide to make a good sensory resistance tunnel. So I cut the fabric in a way that it ended up being about 45 inches wide. I intentionally made my tunnel a bit roomy so that it would grow with the boys and also fit an exercise ball through.

1. Cut your fabric so that it's about 3 meters long x 45 inches wide.

2. Fold the fabric in half so that it makes a long rectangle (like pictured below).

3. Use a zigzag stitch to sew the ends of the spandex together. Don't forget to backstitch at the start and the finish. Now the sewing part is relatively easy and straightforward, but it is a lot of fabric to get through the machine - just as a FYI.

And that's it! Easy, right?!

Ways to Use the Homemade Sensory Resistance Tunnel

The best part about this sensory tunnel is that it is versatile. We use it for so many different activities. 

Obviously we use it as a tunnel, like below, but sometimes I get the boys to crawl through the tunnel while pushing an exercise ball. It's a great heavy work activity!

We also use it like stretchy resistance bands. Simply stand in the middle of the sensory tunnel, grab each end with your hands, and stretch! Here's J demonstrating:

The sensory tunnel also doubles as a body sock like this sensory sock. Just climb on in and start making shapes.

Or play peek-a-boo.

Seriously...how darn cute is this?!

K also likes to wrap himself up like a mummy and walk around. Banana man returns (see reference)! And sometimes the boys will climb into different ends to make a double body sock.

We also use our homemade sensory tunnel as a toy trampoline, which was an idea that I got from the book Motivate to Communicate: 300 Games & Activities for Your Child with Autism. The boys grab some stuffed animals, grab the ends of the tunnel, and shake it like a parachute.

We also like to use it as a sensory swing. My husband and I just grab each end of the tunnel, pick it up, and gently swing it back and forth. Sometimes, if I'm feeling like a good workout, I grab both ends myself so that the boys have to curl their body into a V shape and spin them around for a bit. J particularly loves doing that!

And finally, here are some other suggestions:

• Play tug of war. Two people grab opposite ends of the sensory tunnel and pull back and forth

• Create a high jump or limbo bar with it. Two people hold each end, lower and raise it, while encouraging the kids to jump over, crawl under, roll under, etc. It's a great way to work on the words "over" and "under."

• If you have a smooth soft surface like some tumbling gymnastic mats, then you can have your child climb into the sensory tunnel or lay on top, then pull them across the mats. It's sort of like riding a magic carpet!

Other DIY Sensory Tools & Hacks You'll Love

Homemade Stretchy Bands

DIY Sensory Stretchy Compression Bed Sheet

Easy, Peasy No Sew DIY Crash Pad

Valentine's Day Gross Motor Balance Activity

Looking for Valentine gross motor activities for preschool? Try this simple gross motor balance activity!

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We've been doing a lot of Valentine's themed gross motor activities lately, including this simple heart themed gross motor balance activity. 

It's really low prep, making it a perfect boredom buster for cold winter days. And trust me, in Saskatchewan we get a lot of cold winter days! Days where the temperatures plummet to -40 C or colder and it's simply too cold to play outdoors.

So if you find yourself trapped indoors because your car won't start or you just don't feel like braving the cold, then this low prep Valentine's themed boredom buster is perfect for you. 

The kids can even help you set it up and keep their bodies moving!

Heart Balance Game: A Simple Valentine Gross Motor Activity

I already mentioned that this activity is low prep and you don't need much in terms of materials.

And while this activity is intended to work on balance and gross motor movements, there is a fine motor learning component to it as well. You'll just have to read the full post over on CBC Parents to get the full details.

{Click here to read about this activity at CBC Parents.}

Valentine's Day Gross Motor Activities

This collection of gross motor Valentine's Day activities for kids is so fun and so inexpensive. All you need is something from the dollar store!

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With my oldest back in school, I'm trying to avoid falling into a rut again with my four year old. He really doesn't like to play at home without his best buddy, so it's hard to find activities that he will actually engage in.

So after dropping J off at school, we made a quick stop at the dollar store to find some fresh inspiration.

We ended up coming home with a package of felt hearts and spending hours playing and moving with them. The end result is this set of Valentine's Day gross motor activities.

There's zero prep (score!) involved here. Just tons of gross motor play, which is exactly the type of activity my four year old K needed!

Valentine Gross Motor Activities for Preschoolers: What You'll Need

Here's what you'll need for these Valentine's Day themed gross motor games:

• Large felt hearts (or similar) from the dollar store - You could substitute foam hearts, paper hearts, or even cut out your own heart shapes from felt.

When I picked up a package of felt hearts from our trip to the dollar store, I didn't really know what I was going to do with them. But I figured that I would eventually come up with something.

Obviously I did. You're reading about it after all!

What I loved even more though was that my son created his own fun variations of my original idea.

Easy, Peasy Gross Motor Activities for Valentine's Day Using a Package of Hearts

To play, we started off by scattering the hearts on the floor. We set them a fair distance apart to encourage jumping and large steps. 

For extra fun, I told my four year old that the carpet was lava and he had to only touch the hearts. He's really into the whole "the floor is lava" stage of childhood so he loved this suggestion of mine.

Then, instead of stepping from heart to heart, we varied things up. He tried hopping on one foot from heart to heart. Then he practiced double footed jumps, like below.

Another way to play is to move from heart to heart on all fours, only letting one body part touch a heart at a time. Kind of like a moving game of Twister, I guess? Anyway, it was a great way to stretch the body and get my son moving. You can see it in action in the video that's included elsewhere in this post.

Even More Valentine's Day Gross Motor Activities to Try

Finally, here are some other ways to play with these felt hearts:

• Arrange the hearts in a snake-like shape to create a game board. Roll a die and use your feet as game board pieces to move from the start to the finish line.

• Arrange the hearts to make a hopscotch game. You could label the hearts with numbers if you wish. 

• Make a tic tac toe grid on the floor using tape. Play tic tac toe with the felt hearts instead of X's and O's. One person uses one color of hearts while the other person uses the other color. 

• Arrange the felt hearts into a tight grid, sort of like a Twister game board. Then grab a die. Depending on what number you roll on the die, that's what body part you place somewhere on the hearts. You can only use one body part per heart though! We used the following:

• Roll a 1 = Place your head on a heart

• Roll a 2 = Place your left hand on a heart

• Roll a 3 = Place your right hand on a heart

• Roll a 4 = Place your left foot on a heart

• Roll a 5 = Lift your head up from the hearts

• Roll a 6 = Kid's choice

Regardless of what variation you try, your toddlers and preschoolers are going to have a blast with these Valentine's Day gross motor activities. Which variation will you try first?

How to Make an Occupational Therapy at Home Activity Jar for Kids

Looking for inspiration on how to do occupational therapy at home with kids? You'll love this activity jar filled with occupational therapy and sensory integration activities and ideas.

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Before my oldest son J started kindergarten, we started doing some occupational therapy activities at home with him, incorporating them into his morning routine. 

We already had the making of an epic sensory gym in our basement and I knew that he would need help making the transition to school so I figured making him a little therapy activity jar would be incredibly helpful for him.

With just a few simple materials and the help of the kids, I put together this occupational therapy at home activity jar that's filled with gross motor activities, heavy work proprioceptive activities, and ideas to stimulate the vestibular sensory system.

This idea is perfect for all kids, but especially those with autism and/or sensory processing issues who need some extra support for their sensory needs.

How to Make an Occupational Therapy at Home Activity Jar for Kids

To make this activity jar, you'll need:

• Jumbo wood craft sticks

• Permanent marker

• Mason jar

• Ribbon (optional)

It's pretty straightforward to make. Simply write one activity on each craft stick, put them in a jar, and voila! Done!

A List of Occupational Therapy Activities to Put into Your Child's Activity Jar

As for the activities, here is what is included in our jar:

• Obstacle course

• Play catch

• Climb the slide

• Bean bag toss

• Jump on mini trampoline

• Swinging - We have a variety of swings indoors and outdoors, including our DIY sensory swing and homemade taco sensory swing.

• Ride balance bike - We have this one, but in a different design.

• Spin on the office chair - J can spin and never get dizzy so we often find him doing this activity on his own.

• Animal walks - Crawl like a crab, slither on the ground like a snack, etc.

• Hopper ball

• Balance board - We just put a piece of scrap wood on a pool noodle. It works great!

• Wheelbarrow walk - I hold their ankles and they have to walk using their hands.

• Parachute - Remember our homemade play parachute?

• Pillow sandwich - The boys lay on their back. Then I put a large pillow on their body (it never covers their face) and then I lay on top of it.

• Yoga

• Sit on exercise ball

• Big ball roll - The boys lay on their back. Then I roll a large exercise ball on their body, starting at their ankles and rolling up to their shoulders.

• Sensory tunnel - I made my own (tutorial here). There are many, many, many activities that can be done with it!

• Play with our homemade stretchy resistance bands

• Jump and crash into our DIY no sew crash mat

So when it's time to do OT, the boys each pick a stick or two from the jar for us to try. Of course, you can modify your jar to include anything you want, fine motor, gross motor, vestibular, etc.

Need More OT Exercises & Ideas to Put into Your Jar? Try these!

There are tons of printables and sensory diet resources available here to help you pick the right activities to include in your activity jar.

• 12 Animal Walks for Kids

• Heavy Work Activities to do at Home

• 50 Heavy Work Activities for Kids

• 50 Sensory Diet Activities for Kids

• Outdoor Winter Heavy Work Activities

• 600+ Everyday Sensory Play Ideas

Other Ideas You'll Love

Homemade Stretchy Resistance Bands

Homemade Taco Sensory Swing

Printable Mini Sensory Diet Cards

15 Awesome Trampoline Games the Kids Will Love

Looking for fun games to play on a trampoline? Try one of these fun outdoor trampoline games for kids!

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I have a sensory seeking kid who likes to jump all the time. So investing in a trampoline was a no-brainer for us. After all, trampoline jumping is a great way to burn off energy! And okay, okay we have two trampolines. A big one in our backyard and a mini one for indoor use.

Both of my kids enjoy trampoline time all year round. We jump when there's snow. We jump when there's rain. We jump when it's sunny. For us, it doesn't matter what the weather is when it comes to trampoline fun.

Here are 15 super fun trampoline games that kids of all ages (yes, even that child within you!) will love.

But First...A Disclaimer for These Outdoor Trampoline Games

Use common sense and adult supervision when playing these entertaining trampoline games. Seriously, I cannot stress this enough: I am not responsible for any injuries that result from playing the games listed below. Use these games at your own discretion.

Ideally, you want to use a trampoline with a net, but if you are still rocking an old school trampoline like we are, then you can try this trampoline safety hack to help make your trampoline a wee bit safer.

Fun Trampoline Games

Here are some of our favorite trampoline games, including some of those classic trampoline games that you probably played as a kid. I know I did!

1. Crack the Egg Game (aka Pop the Popcorn) Trampoline Jumping

Here's a popular trampoline game that I bet you played as a child. One person sits in the middle of the trampoline, pulls their legs tight to their body, and holds their legs with their arms, pretending to be an egg. Everyone else jumps to try and get the egg to crack (i.e., they let go of their legs).

2. Slithering Snake - A Trampoline Favorite for my Boys!

This game needs at least three people and a skipping rope. Two people hold onto one end of the jump rope and wiggle it along the middle of the trampoline so it looks like a slithering snake. The other person tries to jump over the jump rope snake. If they touch it, then they lose!

Slithering snake is a great trampoline game that always gets my boys laughing. But, for a fun variant, try moving the jump rope up and down, instead of side to side, to create waves or flames for the person to jump over.

3. Poison - An Easy Trampoline Ball Game

You'll need as many balls as you can find for this classic trampoline ball game. Add them to the trampoline and start jumping. Here's the catch though...the balls are poison and you have to try and avoid them. When a ball touches you, you're out. The last person standing wins!

4. Four Corners - A Trampoline Version of Four Squares

I remember playing this awesome trampoline game a lot as a kid. I also remember it being the game where I got a black eye in grade four...ah, memories!

This game works well if you happen to have a rectangular trampoline or a square trampoline, but since most people have round or oval trampolines, you might need some chalk for this game. Divide the trampoline into four zones by drawing chalk lines for each zone on the trampoline.

The person designated as "it" stands in the middle of the trampoline with their eyes closed and counts to 10. All the other players walk or jump around the entire trampoline and eventually pick a corner to stand in. When the person who is it says the number 10, everyone freezes and stops moving. With their eyes still closed, the person who is it will point to a corner. Whoever is standing in that corner is out of the game.

5. Horse Style Trampoline Game

If you are familiar with the basketball game horse, then this game is tons of fun to play. One person performs a trick (e.g., a butt stomp, a spin jump, etc.). Then the other players try to copycat and perform the trick themselves. If they can't do the trick, they get an H, then on subsequent turns, O-R-S-E. If you spell HORSE, then you're out of the game.

6. Telephone Style Trampoline Game

Everyone sits at the edge of the trampoline. One person performs a trampoline trick and then sits back down. The next person does the same trick and then adds a trick of their own. Then the next player performs the previous two tricks and adds another. Keep repeating this sequence until someone messes up the sequence of tricks. Whoever messes up the sequence is out of the game. Continue playing until there is only one player standing.

7. Bum Wars - A Trampoline Favorite!

This awesome trampoline game starts with everyone bouncing away until someone chants, "1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a bum war!" All players immediately do a butt bounce and try to land on their feet afterwards. However, you can only jump on your feet once. If you double jump, then you're out!

8. One, Two, Three, Sit! Trampoline Activity

For this game, everyone stands in a circle on the trampoline. One person says, "1, 2, 3, 4, sit!" When the person says sit, everyone sits down on the trampoline at the same time. This is one of those trampoline games were the kids will argue over who was the first and last to sit down.

9. Pool Noodle Trampoline Games

Grab some pool noodles and try a few of these pool noodle trampoline games.

• Have a pool noodle sword fight and show off your best trampoline moves as you dodge your opponent's pool noodle - such a simple trampoline activity!

• Play the poison trampoline ball game mentioned above, but use pool noodles instead

• Play the classic trampoline slithering snake (described above), but this time wiggle a pool noodle back and forth instead of a skipping rope. For added fun, you could try doing a trampoline trick such as a flip as you jump over it.

10. Trampoline Hot Potato

You'll need one soft ball for this game. A water balloon also works! A player is designated as "it" and stands on the ground while everyone else stays on the trampoline. The person who is "it" throws the ball at the players on the trampoline. The people on the trampoline have to try and catch the ball. If a person drops the ball, gets hit by it, or stops jumping, they are out. Keep playing until there is only one player standing.

Even More Awesome Trampoline Game Ideas & Activities for Kids

Here are some of our other favorite ways to play on the trampoline, but aren't necessarily "trampoline games" per se.

1. Sprinkler Trampoline Jumping

Sprinkler jumping is a great way to cool off on a hot summer day. Simply, grab your swimsuit, put a sprinkler on underneath the trampoline, and start jumping. Please note that the entire trampoline gets extremely slippery when wet so please be careful with this activity.

2. Chalk Drawing - Turn the Entire Trampoline into a Work of Art!

My kids love to draw on the trampoline using chalk. It washes off easily with some water or during a rain shower. You can even draw games on the trampoline using the chalk like we did for this trampoline time telling game for kids.

3. Trampoline Basketball

This activity is a pretty much a daily occurrence for my kids. We pull their adjustable plastic basketball hoop right to the edge of the trampoline and let them jump and slam dunk to their heart's content. This game is easily my kids' favorite trampoline ball game.

4. Jumping with Water Balloons - One of the Best Trampoline Games for Hot Summer Days!

My kids absolutely love this activity! It's like a game of trampoline hot potato, but with water balloons instead of balls. Simply blow up some water balloons, put them on the trampoline, and start jumping. Watch the balloons pop and explode as they bounce. Again, the trampoline will get super wet so please be careful with this activity.

5. Snow Jumping - Trampoline Fun for Winter Time!

Trampolines aren't just for summer you know...head outside in the winter after a fresh snowfall to try some snow jumping. It's a lot of fun! Please note it does get slippery on the trampoline when there's snow so again, use your discretion.

Which of these trampoline games are you going to try first?

Other Fun Trampoline Activity Ideas You'll Love

Time Telling Trampoline Games

Pool Noodle Trampoline Safety Hack

Turn this Arrow Jumping Game into a Trampoline Activity

Valentine's Themed Gross Motor Learning Games

Simple gross motor Valentine's Day activities for kids that will get them moving and learning.

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When it comes to activities for my kids, I like to make sure it is easy. And I also like to make sure that it gets my kids moving since, well, I have two boys and they always seem to have excess energy! These simple Valentine's themed gross motor learning games are the perfect way to get the kids moving and practicing math, sight words, spelling, letter identification, and more!

Easy Valentine's Day Gross Motor Activities for Kids

We did a math spin on this gross motor game, but you can definitely extend it to cover any topic you'd wish. You can find all of our variations over on CBC Parents.

Also, if your kids enjoy nerf guns, then try combining these learning games with this shootout activity.

{Click here to read the full post on CBC Parents.}

10 Easy Indoor Gross Motor Activities for Kids

When the kids are cooped up indoors because of frigid temperatures or rain, we like to gather up some everyday materials and items from around the house and repurpose them for some good old fashioned gross motor play! Our DIY crash mat is one example. As are these gross motor ideas using an exercise ball.

Most of these ideas require zero prep (yay!!), which means you can literally grab the materials and go. Then the kids will be burning off their excess energy in no time!

10 Easy Ways to Get the Kids Moving Indoors Using Everyday Items

These ideas are seriously easy and fun. Just grab a few materials like the laundry basket that's holding piles of laundry to either be folded or washed. Or all those Amazon prime boxes waiting to be recycled.

Your kids are going to love these!

{Click here to read the full post on CBC Parents.}

Snowflake Balance Game

Looking for a snowflake activity for kids? Try this snowflake balance game and gross motor activity for kids!

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If there's one craft supply that I like to pick up from the dollar store the most, it's quite possibly seasonal foam shapes. I have bunnies, hearts, Christmas ones, snowflakes, snowmen, and so many more. They're so versatile, which is why I like to keep a healthy supply of them around my house.

One way we like to use them is to create simple a balancing game. This snowflake balance game and gross motor activity is just one example.

This snowflake gross motor activity is super simple to set up and the kids will love it! It's also a quick way to burn off energy (a must when you live somewhere that gets unbelievably cold for many months during the winter!) and work on different skills (you'll find lots of ways to play and learn below!).

A version of this post originally appeared on the CBC Parents website.

Snowflake Balance Game: What You'll Need

Here's what you'll need for this simple little snowflake activity:

• A pack of large foam snowflake shapes - I found packs of these at Dollarama and they included different colors in each pack.

• Permanent marker (optional) - To label the snowflakes with sight words, numbers, letters, etc. See the variations section of this post for more ideas. Alternatively, if you don't want to write directly on the snowflakes, you could label sticky notes and put those on the snowflakes instead.

Simply create a path for your kids along the floor using the foam snowflakes. It can be a straight path if you want or you can make it bend and sway to make it a bit more challenging and interesting.

Keep in mind that you can make this activity as simple or as challenging as you'd like simply by spacing the snowflakes closer or father apart as well.

Once you have your snowflake path laid out, it's ready for play. There are lots of ideas below.

We have done lots of seasonal variations of this snowflake game in the past. So often, in fact, that every time K sees me grab a set of foam shapes, he's like: "Can I jump or walk across those?!"

Ideas for How to Play this Snowflake Game

There are many ways that you can play this game, but the basic idea is to move from snowflake to snowflake without touching the ground in between. However, for an added challenge, you could encourage your kids to:

• Walk on their tip toes across the snowflakes

• Walk backwards

• Touch only the snowflakes and if they touch the carpet or floor, then they have to go back to the start

• Hop from snowflake to snowflake, either on one leg or both legs

• Hop from snowflake to snowflake, but alternate which leg you use for each snowflake (e.g., left foot on one, then right foot on the next, then left, right, etc.)

• Crawl across the snowflakes, making sure hands and feet touch only the snowflakes and not the carpet or floor

• Step on every other snowflake

• Walk across the snowflakes while carrying something

• Pick up snowflakes behind them after they move to the next snowflake

• Time them to see how long it takes them to walk across all of the snowflakes

Feel free to get creative with this snowflake game! As we'll see in the next section, you can easily transform this simple balance game into a learning activity to target sight words, math skills, and so much more!

Learning Variations for this Snowflake Gross Motor Activity

If you want to sneak in some extra learning, then you could try the following ideas:

• Label each snowflake with sight words or spelling words and have your child read the words as they walk across

• Number the snowflakes and have your child count as they walk across (try this idea to practice times tables or skip counting)

• Label each snowflake with the letters of the alphabet and have your child name the letters as they walk across (perfect for hyperlexic kids!)

• Write simple math equations on each snowflake and have your child answer the question before they move to the next snowflake

• Write a simple instruction on each snowflake (e.g., touch your nose, clap 5 times, touch your toes, spell your name) and have your child read the instruction and do what it says before they move to the next snowflake

• Label each snowflake with music symbols and have your child name what the symbol is before moving to the next snowflake (great for music teachers!)

• Label each snowflake with a simple rhythm to clap and have your child clap the rhythm that they see before moving to the next snowflake (another great idea for music teachers!)

Again, feel free to get creative with this snowflake gross motor activity. There are endless possibilities, as you can see.

However you decide to adapt it, I hope that your kids enjoy this simple snowflake balance game as much as my kids do.