Gross Motor: Balance Cushion Activities

I know my girl girls wiggle a lot. They always want to move and or do something.

And I know that we have to do something when stuck inside to get those wiggles out. And a few simple activities can help them get the wiggles out and have loads of fun at the same time.

We always have a blast doing these balance cushion gross motor activities.

Gross Motor: Balance Cushion Activities - 4 fun movements that can be done indoors and get the wiggles out and work on balance and core strenght at the same time. - 3Dinosaurs.com

We have included links to some of the products and resources we have used with this activity. If you purchase via the links we may earn a small commission.

This is a great addition to the gross motor on the site.

Now, these are simple gross motor activities and a great way to get wiggling and work on core strength at the same time.

I know that kids love a challenge and that is what these movements are. A fun way to work on movements and let kids have fun at the same time.

The four times of movements are: twisting side to side, touching your toes, standing on one leg, and bending side to side.

What you need for this Balance Cushion Gross Motor Activities

balance cushion

A few tips before you started with this gross motor activity

1. You can do some jumping jacks or run in place to warm up the body before you do these activities. It helps the body to be warmed up.

2. Review the movements on the ground before doing them on the balance cushion. This lets them know what they should be do and how different the cushion will make things.

3. Safety First! You want to make sure if you have several kids doing this they are far enough apart they won’t hurt each other when you go off their balance cushion.

4. Remember this is about having fun while doing movements. Laughing just might happen!

And on to the movements!

Gross Motor: Twisting Side to Side

The idea is to have them twist side the side and stay on the balance cushion. This may take practice. They can start out slow keeping arms close to the body.

If they are up to a challenge have them put their arms out straight and do the same twist. It is a simple way to make the movement more challenging.

Gross Motor: Bending Side to Side

The idea is to have them lean side to side while standing on the disk. This is taking a movement you would do for a stretch and changing it into a balance activity.

You have to start on the wiggle pad while leaning off your center of balance. I always suggest they start our slowly when doing this.

Gross Motor: Touching Your Toes

This is one of my favorites for my girls to do. You have them bend at the waist and touch their toes. This is harder than it seems because you have to keep your balance while doing it.

I always remind them this is not about going fast but doing the movement the best you can.

Gross Motor: Balance on One Leg

Balancing on one leg can be a challenge. It is not always easy for kids to do. You can tell them many ways to do this.

I always start with having them lift one leg off the cushion just a few inches. Then I challenge them to raise the leg higher and higher. Then you can count to see how long they and stand on the one leg and each height.

Make sure you have them do both legs!

Bonus Gross Motor Activity 1: Jumping Side to Side

A fun bonus activity you can do at any time or as a warm-up is jumping from side to side over the cushion. It is fun to see how kids jumping from foot to foot over the cushion.

My girls also love to take the side to side and go around in circles keeping the cushion in the center.

Bonus Activity 2: Two Feet Jumps Over

Have some fun jumping with two feet over the cushion. You can challenge them if they are able to see how high they can jump over it! It is a great way to burn some extra energy!