Playground Activities For Motor Skills
Updated on: April 4, 2024
If you’re looking for fresh ideas for motor skill development, have you thought about using the playground? With so much space plus interesting equipment to use, playground activities for gross and fine motor skills can be particularly motivating for young children.
Outdoor learning is known to be highly inspirational. A number of studies have found a link between spending time in the outdoors and better health and wellbeing.
Data from studies by Exeter University and Natural England discovered that spending just two hours a week in nature significantly boosts health and wellbeing.
Meanwhile, research by The Wildlife Trusts showed that incorporating regular outdoor learning sessions can improve children’s wellbeing, motivation, and confidence.
Outdoor Activities For Gross and Fine Motor Skills
Lots of space to roam around, things to climb, textures to touch and more mean outdoor activities provide a wider array of ways to build gross and fine motor skills at the same time.
Gross and fine motor skills work together so opportunities to develop both types of motor skills at the same time are particularly helpful.
For example, when you pick something up (fine motor skill) you might have to balance or use upper body strength (gross motor skill) to remain stable.
Learn more about gross and fine motor skills
With the wider benefits of spending more time outside including better focus and attention, there are lots of good reasons to build playground activities for gross and fine motor skills into EYFS children’s day.
As a leading supplier of playground markings and equipment to schools and early settings, motor skill development is always high on our list of design priorities.
Whilst ensuring our equipment and markings are fun and innovative, we’re dedicated to making sure that they ultimately provide rich educational experiences. In fact, it’s our passion that the three go hand in hand. See our playground markings and equipment.
To help you make the most of the outdoor environment, here’s our top ideas for fun playground activities for motor skills, ideal for EYFS and beyond.
Playground Activities For Motor Skills
1. No Equipment Activity Trail
There’s nothing worse than an activity which takes more time to set up than it does to use. This no equipment activity trail is great fun and quick to make.
- Use chalk to create a sequence of activities on the ground by drawing different combinations of lines and circles.
- Draw a straight line for children to run, jog or balance along. Next, add large circles with spaces in between for children to jump into.
- Show children how to hop at the start of the session and practice together. Now draw pairs of small circles for children to hop through. For those who find hopping challenging, the second circle gives them somewhere to place their foot.
- Finally, add long horizontal marks for children to skip across.
- Have the whole sequence drawn out before children arrive and add a time challenge to the activity.
As children jump, skip, and hop through the trail, they’ll build their awareness of the left and right sides of their body.
Meanwhile, the challenges to balance on one side of the body to hop and two sides to jump will help children build balance, co-ordination, body strength and leg muscles.
The more children complete these activities, the smoother their actions will be so it’s worth investing in one of our activity trail playground markings.
In addition to saving you organisation time, a permanent activity trail on the playground means children will have plenty of time to fine-tune important motor skills.
See our range of fun activity trails
2. Buried Treasure
- Hide medium-sized plastic letters around the outdoor space. Each letter should be partially submerged in the ground so place them in soft soil, sand, and a variety of safe nooks.
- Spread them out so children move around the outdoor space.
- Tell children they have 10 minutes to find as much buried treasure as they can. Explain they will need to dig the treasure out carefully with their fingers.
As children dig out the treasure from the soil and pick out objects from safe nooks, they’ll be building strength in the muscles used for fine motor skills.
Meanwhile, balancing, pulling, and moving around the space will help to develop gross motor skills.
3. Piggy In The Middle
Throwing and catching is a great way to improve gross and fine motor skills.
Moving to catch the ball will increase upper body strength, co-ordination and balance whilst gripping and throwing the ball improves muscle strength and dexterity in the fingers.
Piggy In The Middle is a simple game concept which offers plenty of room for adaption and has appeal for all children. You can use the game to target the development of motor skills whilst working with either a large group of children or a whole class.
Ask children to stand in a circle (or use our Piggy In The Middle playground marking).
Pick one child to stand in the middle – they are the piggy in the middle. (For early years children, it’s a good idea to choose 2 or 3 children to be the piggy in the middle together because throwing and catching will be developing skills at this age).
One child standing in the circle throws the ball to someone on the other side of the circle, calling out their name first. The piggy in the middle has to try and get the ball.
Continue until the piggy in the middle catches the ball or it’s time to swap.
Find more fun playground markings for outdoor motor skills development in our huge collection now. Browse playground markings
Jess Sparks
Jess is deeply committed to supporting our mission of positively impacting UK outdoor play environments to promote healthy lifestyles in children.
With a CIM Level 6 Diploma in Sustainable Marketing, Jess channels her passion for sustainability into her marketing role, using her skills to promote eco-conscious practices and raise awareness for our initiatives.
Jess’ experience within the industry is instrumental in driving engagement and supporting connections with those who require ultra-durable, high-grade playground markings both locally and internationally.