28 Active & Fun Preschool Gross Motor Activities

We always hear about fine motor skills being important for kids, but gross motor development is just as important. Today we have so many fun ideas to practice and enhance the physical development of our little ones through simple activities, free play, ball games, and even everyday activities.

Let’s get started!

Image shows a compilation of preschool gross motor activities such as a truck toy, buckets, and more. From different sources. — Enjoy these fun preschool gross motor activities!

Best Gross Motor Movement Games and Activities

A child’s gross motor skills are one of the most important skills little kids have to practice from a young age. Gross motor skills are important to help young kids perform everyday functions, such as walking, running, jumping, and more. They are abilities that let us do tasks that involve large muscle groups in our torso, legs, and arms, as they involve whole-body movements.

When kids work on their gross motor abilities, they’re able to do more complex activities such as ice skating, martial arts, playing hula hoop, and other fun activities.

That’s why today we have free resources to help kids of all ages exercise their gross motor movements through active play; from young children in preschool (or younger) to older children in primary school, we have lots of fun activities dedicated to improving physical child’s development in a variety of ways.

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Gross Motor Activities for Kids

We have different activities for different settings: some can be done in a jungle gym, others in preschool classrooms or during a scavenger hunt, and pretty much anywhere.

1. Gross Motor Skills for Preschoolers: Exercising Dice

Make an exercising dice! Use labels to mark the sides of the dice with some activities to have kids release their energy: jump, hop, stomp, clap, arm circles, crawl.

Image shows two toddlers playing freeze. Idea from Kids ActivitiesBlog — Toddlers will have so much fun with this outdoor game.

2. Freeze Tag for Preschoolers

You literally only need spray bottles, water, and preschoolers excited to play this freeze tag game. It’s a perfect summer game that also enhances fine motor skills and self-regulation.

Image shows a stack pumpkin cups. Idea from Kids Activities Blog — A fun game that only takes 5 mins to prep.

3. Pumpkin Cup Stack Toss Game

This pumpkin cup stack toss game is quick and easy to make and helps strengthen gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It literally takes 15 minutes to prepare

Image shows a kids' hands playing finger Twister. Idea from Kids Activities Blog — If you love the classic game Twister, you’ll love this game as well!

4. All Twisted Up!! An Educational Finger Game

This traditional game is great at developing core and gross motor skills, while helping them learn their colors too.

Image shows a kitchen towel and a small pillow. Idea from Kids Activities Blog — We love educational activities.

5. Simple Games: Bean Bag Toss {Preposition Practice}

All you need to play this simple game that helps children work on gross motor skills is a dish towel and a bean bag. It also helps them with learning prepositions!

Image shows a collage of a toddler playing with pillows. Idea from Kids Activities Blog — Why don’t we build a pillow fort too?

6. Pillow Stacking: A Physics Lesson in Balance

Here’s a fun pillow stacking activity to encourage gross motor skills and science skills that is so much fun, too. Let’s learn some physics!

7. Learn about Texture by Molding and Painting Aluminum Foil

Play with aluminum foil is a great way to learn about our sense of touch, texture and spatial reasoning as kids can ball the foil up into shapes, cover items and make imprints of them.

8. Learning Fun with Birdseed

This birdseed activity is a great way to enhance fine and gross motor skills as well as learning about birds.

Image shows colored paper pieces on the floor to play the floor is lava. Idea from Hands on as we grow — Oh no, the floor is lava!

9. The Floor is Lava “Don’t Step in the Lava!”

This is a fun hot lava game where the floor is lava in our living room and all you need is colored paper and tape. From Hands on as we Grow.

Image shows strings with magnetic letters hanging. Idea from Hands on as we grow — Let’s add some learning fun to our activities.

10. Lowercase Letters String Scavenger Hunt for Kids

This string scavenger hunt is not as fast as other activities as it takes some time to set up, but once you do, kids will have hours of indoor play fun. From Hands on as we grow.

Image shows a ball with letters and a toddler playing with it. Idea from School times snippet — This is such a great educational outdoor game.

11. Alphabet Ball

An “alphabet ball” is a low prep, active way to help kids practice the ABCs, and it’s so easy and inexpensive to set up. From Playdough to Plato.

Image shows a kid playing a game with letters on the floor. Idea from The imagination tree — This game will get the kids active!

12. Noisy Letter Jump Phonics Game

Here’s a fun and active way to learn letter names and sounds with young children! It’s perfect for 4-5 year olds and can be played in an outdoor play area. From The Imagination Tree.

Image shows a basketball net and a picture of a basketball with a letter on it. Idea from Playdough plato — Learning the alphabet is better when fun is involved.

13. Basketball Alphabet Game for Preschoolers

Work on letter recognition, fine motor skills, and more with this alphabet game from School Time Snippets.

Image shows 3 pillows for gross motor activities. Idea from Toddler approved. — We love how versatile pillows are.

14. Alphabet Pillow Jumping

This Alphabet Pillow Jumping activity Toddler Approved is a great way to get physical activity when little kids are stuck indoors and do some learning at the same time.

Image shows a preschooler playing outdoors. Idea from No time for flashcards — Let’s go outside for this fun learning activity.

15. Outdoor Alphabet Hunt

This outdoor alphabet hunt is a fun way to learn letters and sounds and is perfect for kids of all ages as it can be adapted to their own levels. From No Time for Flash Cards.

Image shows magnetic letters. Idea from Inspirational laboratories — Grab your magnetic letters for this activity.

16. Letter Sounds Race

Practice letter recognition and letter sounds with a fun game that gets kids moving! From Inspiration Laboratories.

Image shows a toddler playing with a small football and red cups. Idea from Fun learning for kids — A fun way to put those gross motor skills to work!

17. Ball Theme Alphabet Activity: Kick the Cup

This ball theme alphabet activity is fun way to practice identifying letter sounds while kicking a small soccer ball. Kids will love the chance to move and learn! From Fun Learning For Kids.

Image shows plastic letters on a grass field. Idea from Growing book — Let’s enjoy the nice summer day to practice our ABCs.

18. Alphabet Activities: Grab and Pull a Letter Load

This activity combines outdoor fun with letter identification, and you only need a few simple supplies (rope, basket with holes, alphabet letters, index cards, and a marker). From Growing Book by Book.

Image shows a toy truck with magnetic letters. Idea from Pre-KPages — Let’s learn about the alphabet and transportation.

19. Transporation Alphabet Relay

This transportation alphabet relay is such a fun way for kids to learn letters and get some exercise, while learning about different ways of transportation too. From Pre-K Pages.

Image shows a piece of a pool noodle with letters. Idea from The educators spin on it. — Pool noodles have so many uses outside of the pool.

20. Pool Noodle Learning Activity: Alphabetical Order Obstacle Course

Let’s race through this alphabetical order obstacle course using alphabet pool noodles! Great for practicing letter learning. From The Educators Spin On It.

Image shows a little girl playing on a mat with letters. Idea from momto2poshlildivas — Musical alphabet games? Yes, please!

21. Play to Learn: Musical Alphabet Game for Preschool

This musical alphabet game is a fun way to practice letter recognition and test phonological awareness of the corresponding letter sounds. Quick, easy, no fuss game you can set up in minutes! From Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.

Image shows a kid holding a piece of paper with the letter M on it. Idea from adabofgluewilldo — Kids can have fun and learn at the same time with this game.

22. Snowball Fight Learning

This snowball fight learning activity is perfect for the classroom. Kids won’t even know they are learning in the process. From A Dab of Glue Will Do.

Image shows a preschooler playing with a toilet paper roll and a plastic ball with letters. Idea from coffeecupsandcrayons — Toilet paper rolls can be used for learning, too.

23. ABC Ice Cream Gross Motor Game

To make this game, you’ll need ball pit balls and paper towel rolls, and a marker. That’s it! From Coffeecups and Crayons.

Image shows a collage of photos of a little boy playing with a fall leaf and tracing it on a piece of paper. Idea from toddler approved — Even fall leaves can be an educational resource for toddlers.

24. Fall Leaf Alphabet Movement Activity

This activity from Toddler Approved gets toddlers and preschoolers moving with Fall leaves while learning new words, talking about alphabet letters and sounds, and matching letters.

Image shows a kid playing with a bateball and a ball hanging. Idea from mosswoodconnections — This game can be played with older kids, too.

25. Ball In A Bag: Gross Motor Activity

Here is a fun, simple gross motor activity to work on visual tracking, ball skills, and proprioception motor skills. It’s simple to set up and it promises to engage the children in play. From Mosswood Connections.

Image shows a skee game done with household items. Idea from icanteachmychild — Imagine all the fun kids will have playing this game!

26. Color Skee Ball For Toddlers and Preschoolers

This game will make your toddler feel like they are at the fair! Grab your plastic baskets, cardboard boxes, ball pit balls, and markers. From I Can Teach My Child.

Image shows three colored paper plates with a bag on one of them. Idea from buggyandbuddy — Guaranteed hours of fun!

27. Press Here Inspired Tossing Math Game for Kids

Kids will love making their own hands-on math game inspired by the popular children’s book, Press Here by Herve Tullet! It’s a great way to practice those gross motor skills while also practicing counting and comparing numbers! From Buggy and Buddy.

Image shows several toddlers playing a game indoors. Idea from thepreschooltoolboxblog — The perfect game for preschoolers.

28. Walkin’ In The Jungle Gross Motor and Sequencing For Preschool

Come “Walk in the Jungle” with us and explore music and movement, listening skills, and a sequencing activity designed just for your own preschoolers! From The Preschool Toolbox Blog.

Want more Activities for your preschooler? Try these:

A color sorting game for preschoolers that will make them learn in a fun way!
Looking for a flower craft preschool? We got it!
Let’s have some counting fun with our Baby Shark number counting printable!
We have over 100 number activities for preschoolers that you have to try today.
This letter matching game is perfect for your little ones learning their ABCs.
Download and print our unicorn worksheets to learn how to count from 1 to 5!
Let’s make a car maze mat for kids to play with their little cars.

Which gross motor skill activity will your preschooler try first?