Movement & Coordination: A Gross Motor Home Program

Who this program is for

• Children who trip often, bump into furniture or take a lot of tumbles
• A child who hangs back from running, jumping or climbing while other children join in
• Trouble with balance — standing on one foot, walking along a line, taking stairs one foot at a time
• Difficulty catching, throwing or kicking a ball
• A child who tires quickly, slumps at the table, or leans on furniture and on you
• Movement that is lagging behind other children the same age — including children with a known diagnosis such as global developmental delay or Down syndrome, where big-body skills simply need more turns at practice. There are companion programs for everyday learning with developmental delay and for children with Down syndrome if either fits your child

Your step-by-step roadmap

Move at your child’s pace, not the calendar’s — the “weeks” are just a gentle order, not a race. Feel free to repeat any stage for as long as it’s helping.

1. Week 1 — Where your child’s gross motor skills are now

   Find your child’s real starting point, so every game you play sits one step away instead of a year away.
   • Over one ordinary week, watch four things: how steady your child is on their feet, whether both sides of the body work together, how they cope with stairs and uneven ground, and how long they last before they need to sit down.
   • Use rough age anchors rather than the child next door. Most children walk alone by around 18 months, run and kick a ball by two, climb well and stand on one foot for a moment by three, catch a large ball most of the time by four, and hop and skip by five.
   • Write down one movement your child nearly manages — not the finished skill you wish they had. That near-miss is your target for the next few weeks.
   • Take a thirty-second video of your child walking, running and climbing. Children rarely perform on cue in a clinic room, and short, real footage tells a therapist far more than any description.

   Try this: This is close to what we do first when we watch a child move: look, then aim one step above what they can already do, so success comes often.

   Mark week done

2. Week 2 — Big movements and balance

   Build steady balance and confidence moving the whole body.
   • Walk along a line of tape, a low kerb or a chalk line, arms out wide.
   • Practise standing on one foot while you count together — start with a hand on the wall, then let go.
   • Play “statues” — move freely, then freeze and hold still.
   • Let your child go barefoot indoors and on safe grass. Feet grip and balance better without shoes.

   Try this: Turn balance into a game with counting or music and your child will practise far longer.

   Mark week done

3. Week 3 — Jump, hop and land

   Develop leg strength and the control needed to land safely.
   • Jump with two feet over a rope or a line on the floor.
   • Hop like a bunny, jump like a frog and stomp like a giant.
   • Jump off a low, safe step and land with bent knees.
   • Say what you see — “you bent your knees that time” tells your child exactly what worked, in a way “good boy” never does.

   Try this: Land like a soft, quiet cat — bending the knees teaches safe, controlled landings.

   Mark week done

4. Week 4 — Climb, crawl and crash

   Build core and upper-body strength through active play.
   • Crawl through tunnels made from chairs, blankets and cushions.
   • Climb safely at the park with you close by for support.
   • Build a cushion mountain to climb over, crawl under and jump onto.
   • Push and pull real weight — a laundry basket across the room, a bucket of water into the garden. Heavy work is calming as well as strengthening.

   Try this: Crawling on hands and knees is powerful exercise — it builds the whole upper body and core at once. Pushing, pulling and carrying work the same way, which is why they also turn up in our sensory home program for children who are easily overwhelmed.

   Mark week done

5. Week 5 — Ball skills and coordination

   Practise using the two sides of the body together — the skill underneath catching, cutting and, later, handwriting.
   • Roll, then throw a large soft ball back and forth close together.
   • Kick a ball towards a simple goal made of two shoes or cones.
   • Try catching a slow balloon or beach ball before a smaller ball.
   • Play games that make a hand cross to the other side of the body — popping bubbles on the far side, passing a ball around your own waist. Therapists call this crossing the midline; it is how the two halves of the body learn to cooperate.

   Try this: Start with a balloon — it floats slowly and gives your child time to get their hands ready. The same two-sided coordination sits under cutting and, later, writing — if writing stays slow and effortful once your child is at a school desk, read about handwriting difficulty, or dysgraphia.

   Mark week done

6. Week 6 — Put it all together

   Combine the separate skills into flowing movement your child chooses for themselves.
   • Set up a simple obstacle course to crawl through, jump over and balance along.
   • Play chasing, hopscotch or “follow the leader” with big movements.
   • Dance and copy each other’s actions to favourite songs.
   • Take one skill somewhere new — the park, a cousin’s house, the school gate. A skill your child uses without your prompt, in a place it was not taught, is a skill they truly own.

   Try this: An obstacle course lets your child practise every skill at once — and it still just feels like play.

   Mark week done

Little tricks that make it work

• Aim for active play every day, even just ten minutes at a time.
• Join in yourself — children move more when a grown-up plays too.
• Keep it safe: clear the space, use soft landings and stay close.
• Celebrate having a go, not just getting it right.
• Take play outdoors to the park or garden whenever you can.
• Follow your child’s energy — stop before they get overtired or frustrated.
• Do not correct every stumble. Constant fixing makes a wobbly child stop trying.