Preschool gross motor activities never fail to bring tons of fun into our classroom. The leaping over logs activity will work in any season and across a variety of preschool themes. It’s a simple and fun activity that will allow the kids an opportunity to move around and get their wiggles out!
Still Playing School has organized an amazing resource of ideas to get the kiddos moving (especially when they’re stuck inside due to bad weather) – Fun Gross Motor Ideas from A to Z! I’m excited to be a part of it with preschool gross motor activities centered around “L is for Logs”.
preschool gross motor activities with logs outside
Last year, some of our preschool parents donated logs to our playground. Ever since then, the kiddos have been enamored with them!
Related: Outdoor Messy Play Ideas
The students have used their gross motor skills for so many activities with the logs. Here’s a sampling of those activities:
- Created a wall out of the logs, to protect their “castle” from “an invasion”
- Carted the logs from one of the playground to another, simply because they wanted to see if they were up to the challenge!
- Used the logs as seating for a fire pit so they could roast s’mores during summer camp. Of course, the fire pit and s’more-making was overseen by teachers!
- Put together all kinds of log structures and piles of logs, like this one they made last month.
preschool gross motor activities with “logs” inside
Since Still Playing School’s A to Z series is focused on indoor activities, I wanted to share an easy game we played with blocks. It was a great way to get the kids moving when we were stuck inside because of crummy weather! For this game, we pretended the long wooden blocks from our home center were “logs.”
Here’s how we played “Leaping Over Logs”
- I had the kiddos sit on either side of our circle time and block center rug.
- One kiddo rolled a large die and counted the dots. The die determined how many “logs” he had to stack up at the end of the rug.
- The next child ran and leaped over the block pile. Then it was her turn to roll the die.
This incredibly easy game integrated gross motor skills, math, and teamwork into one easy package! Even better, the boys and girls had a blast!
Do you have some favorite preschool gross motor activities you just love? If so, please be sure to tell me about them in the comments below! And don’t forget to check out the rest of the alphabet from the A to Z Gross Motor Series! There’s even an awesome giveaway sponsored by Discount School Supply!
Gross Motor Materials
Logs are such a great item to keep around for the children to practice gross motor skills. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to get all of their wiggles out!
Are you looking for some more products to encourage play and the growth of gross motor skills? Look no further! Check out some of my favorite items that always get the kids up and moving below.
I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
- Playground balls
- Movement scarves
- Parachute
- Bean bags
- Cones
- Balance boards
- Hula hoops
- Round spot markers
- Chalk
- Jump ropes
- Scooter boards
- Kickballs
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
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Oh, what a fun idea! I have a toddler that loves knocking down his sister’s block creations! If we made it a game like yours everyone would be so much happier!
Those log slices and stumps look like so much fun! I think we’ll have to see if any fallen trees on our property can be salvaged for play in the spring!