Gross Motor Skills
Gross Motor Skills
Gross Motor Skills
Bilateral Integration 8
Core Stability 12
Spatial awareness 14
Ball skills 17
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Introduction
This booklet has been designed to provide practical
ideas and activities to help support your child/
young person to develop their gross motor skills. All
references to child / children mean either a child or
young person.
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Games and activities can be introduced to your child
at any time throughout the day. Try to create lots
of opportunities as this can be very helpful for your
child’s gross motor development.
Remember…
• Regular practice (five to ten minutes each day) will
help your child improve their skills.
• Make it fun!
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Planning and organisation
Sometimes it can be difficult to do the things we
want to do. Sometimes it can be very hard to think
of an idea, organise and then sequence and carry
out unfamiliar and complex body movements in a
co-ordinated manner. Here are a few pointers.
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• Encourage the child to talk his way through an
activity for the first few times, create rhymes, this
will help the child develop their planning and
doing skills.
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Goal, Plan, Do and Check
Goal Plan Do Check
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Bilateral Integration
Bilateral integration is using both sides of the
body together. It is an important foundation for
the development and co-ordination between
right and left sides of the body and effective two-
handed co-ordination. Tasks that the child may
find challenging include cutlery, tying shoelaces,
completing buttons or zips.
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Bilateral Integration exercises
Knee Windmills:
• Touch left knee with right hand
• Stand up straight
• Stand up straight
Easy: 5 times
Hard: 10 times
Windmills:
• Touch left foot with right hand
• Stand up straight
• Stand up straight
Easy: 5 times
Hard: 10 times
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Marching:
• March on the spot
Easy: 10 sec
Hard: 20 sec
Jumping Jacks:
• Jump feet out, hands
above head
Easy: 5 times
Hard: 10 times
Push Ups:
• Place hands on floor, arms straight
Easy: 5 times
Hard: 10 times
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All Fours:
• Lift up right arm and left leg
• Slowly lower
Wall Squats:
• Place feet about 12-24 inches from wall
• Hold position
Easy: 5 sec
Hard: 10 sec
Easy: 5 times
Hard: 10 times
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Core stability
Working on postural control /core stability, and
increasing shoulder and pelvic girdle strength and
stability helps to develop gross motor co-ordination
skills. The more stable your child is in their core
(trunk), the better their hand and foot function will
be.
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• Wheelbarrow races: (walking on hands whilst an
adult carries the child’s legs). Initially your child
may need support at their hips to wheelbarrow
walk. As their upper limb strength develops,
support can be decreased to supporting your child
at their knees and then at the ankles.
• swimming
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• gym activities, for example - rowing machine,
elliptical trainer/cross trainer, running machine.
Spatial/Body Awareness
Children with poor spatial/body awareness will often
bump into things and/or knock items
over; they can have difficulties judging
the space between their body and other
people or objects. They may hesitate
during activities that require movement
and check by looking to make sure their
body is how it should be.
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• Mirror Games: Facing a mirror, take turns
copying movements by looking in the mirror. Try
things like waving, shaking a foot, putting hands
on knees.
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• Toss small bean bags or
soft toys into a bucket.
• Jumping a rope.
Ball Skills
Catching and throwing a ball requires the child to
be able to integrate the visual information about the
speed, flight and size of the ball. The child needs
to know how much to move their body, arms and
fingers and time their movements so that they are in
the right place when the ball arrives.
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There are many different ways to grade ball catching
to make sure it is at the level appropriate to your
child. Being able to catch a ball should make your
child feel that they have achieved something so it is
important to get the level of challenge ‘just right’.
The three variables you can
grade in ball catching are:
• Position
• Size of Ball
• Distance
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Always encourage your child to look at you before
you throw the ball.
• Balloons
• Bean bags
• Target
Level 1: Easy
Level 3: Advanced
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Activity Ideas:
• Jumping – trampoline.
• Bowling.
• Hop scotch.
• Hoop games.
• Racket sports.
• Swingball.
• Swimming.
• Sitting on a space
hopper and maintaining
balance whilst watching
television or playing a game.
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• Lying on tummy on a space hopper doing a
puzzle, supporting the body.
• Woodland walks
• www.playscotland.org
• www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk
• www.visitscotland.com
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East Ayrshire resources
• www.galleoncentre.com
• www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk
• www.prestwicktennisandfitness.co.uk
• www.kaleisure.com
• www.irvinebaygc.co.uk
• www.carena.org.uk
• www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/communityfacilities
• www.dreamnorthayrshire.com
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Contact Information
Children and Young People’s Occupational
Therapy Services (North)
Rainbow House,
Ayrshire Central Hospital,
Kilwinning Road,
Irvine KA12 8SS
01294 323070
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Your notes
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We are happy to consider requests for this publication in
other languages or formats such as large print.
Last reviewed: October 2020 Leaflet reference: OT17-012-GD PIL code: PIL17-0390