Spring Movement Cards

Kindergarten Preschool Toddler Gross Motor ActivitiesPrintablesSpring

Spring time is coming and after spending the winter months all cooped up inside, everybody is ready to start getting rid of all of that extra energy and these spring movement cards are the perfect way to do it!

Now, with young children, we often focus on so heavily on their fine motor skills, that we forget just how important gross motor activities are as well.

This spring movement game takes care of that by combining different spring themed items with the different ways that they move and gives your preschoolers the chance to imitate them.

And you can use them anywhere!

Stuck inside for indoor recess on a rainy day? These cards are perfect for getting the wiggles out!

Is it warm enough for outdoor play? Take this movement activity outside and see if your students can find any of the things that they’re imitating while they’re out there. It’ll be like your own spring themed scavenger hunt!

What are gross motor skills?

Although the name sounds a bit odd, gross motor is just another name for large motor or large, whole body movements.

In other words, gross motor skills are when we move our whole body by using the large muscle groups to perform different movements like running, jumping, crawling, etc.

Using large muscle groups is essential to everyday activities like walking and running, and is essential to the physical development of growing children. It helps children build strength and grow muscles which, in turn, helps with building endurance for fine motor skill activities like writing and drawing.

If a child doesn’t properly develop gross motor skills, their fine motor skills will suffer as well.

Now, besides the obvious physical importance of gross motor skills, there are some other benefits that come from gross motor physical activity and movement games:

• Improves focus by increasing blood flow to the brain
• Lengthens concentration time
• Better body awareness
• Improves self-control
• Increases calmness during non-gross motor skill activities
• Decreases stress
• Give students mental breaks (we call these Brain Breaks)
• Increases the bond between students and helps to create a sense of community
• Improves behavior
• Promotes and creates a desire for students to participate in other physical fitness activities
• Increases the FUN in your classroom!

Spring Themed Movement Cards

These spring movement cards are a great way to have fun with your students and offers up an opportunity to talk with your preschoolers about the changing of the seasons. In fact, gather up a few different themed activities to pair with this one to create your own spring theme! It’ll wind up being a huge hit with your little learners!

You can use these cards in large or small groups – just make sure that your students have plenty of space to move around and perform physical activity. You don’t want anybody accidentally getting hurt because their neighbor is flapping like a bird.

Once you print these cards and laminate them, you are ready to rock and roll.

There are 12 cards (four to each page) so you only have to print three pages and you have simple spring movement cards ready to get your kiddos moving!

Have you ever seen a classroom full of students waddling like a duck? Squirming like a worm? Growing like a tree? Or maybe they’d like to try a bunny hop? Those are just a few examples of the spring themed movements that come in this full color set.

Using the Spring Movement Cards

There are a few ways you could incorporate this activity into your day.

Simply show the card, state the movement, and have your students do the motion. Make sure that when you pull these cards out for the first time that you set a few ground rules beforehand so that everyone knows what space they can use and if running or fast movements are allowed.

You could also turn this activity into a freeze dance. Turn on some fun music and have the students imitate the movement on the card until you say “Freeze” or when the music stops. Then switch up the cards and do it again.

Have you tried playing charades with your students yet? This would be a fun way to teach the game while incorporating these cards. Show one student a card and have them act out what the card says while the other children try to guess what the movement is.

Remind them that with charades, you can’t make any sounds! Watch how their creativity flows when they try to buzz like a bee without actually buzzing!

These cards would make a great fun Friday resource before everyone heads home for the weekend and it’s such a simple way to work a fun gross motor activity into your day! I bet you that your students won’t even realize that they’re learning!