The Central West’s town of Orange is one of the most beautiful places this side of the Blue Mountains, however, it does get incredibly cold here in Winter. How are we supposed to get our kids to burn off some energy when they will freeze as soon as they walk outside?
Well- gross motor opportunities can be created inside in the warm! It is easy to think the only indoor activities that can be done are related solely to fine motor skills e.g. baking, drawing, crafts, but, with a few intentionally placed pieces of furniture, some pillows and blankets and a whole lot of imagination, gross motor skills are easy to do indoors. Here are some fun ideas to incorporate gross motor skills into your chilly weekends:
- Indoor obstacle courses: “crawl under the table”, “wobble across the lounge”, “step on the pillows”, “balance on the masking tape line”, “jump over the dog!”
- Animal yoga: “walk up the hallway like a crab”, “Jump like a kangaroo to the kitchen”, “stomp like a dinosaur to the toilet”
- Gross motor activity dice: use your fine motor skills to make a paper dice, and on each side of the dice, write a gross motor skill to perform. Roll the dice and complete the activity! E.g. “5 star jumps”, “stand on one leg for 10 seconds”, “touch your toes”
- Dancing/musical statues
- Wheelbarrow, egg and spoon, or sack races
- The floor is lava song on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbNAiN8FTfc
If home is too crowded and you are still wanting to get those kids moving in the cold, here is a list of Orange’s top indoor playgrounds:
- Cafe Connect 107 Prince Street, Orange NSW
- Orange City Centre Anson Street & Kite Street, Orange NSW
- Robin Hood Hotel 30 Burrendong Way, Orange NSW
- Central West Gymnastics Ninja Gym 3 Barrett Ct, Orange NSW
- Wentworth Golf Club 130 Ploughmans Lane, Orange NSW
