There are a huge range of physical play opportunities throughout the day from keeping little fingers busy developing fine motor skills all the way through to big body movements like crawling, climbing and balancing.

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Inside/outside – crawling spaces

E is about 8 months here and was crawling a bit and finding other inventive ways to shuffle along the floor. This pop up tent was from Argos and we got a lot of use out of it but it was tricky to pack up again and after about a year was too bent to use.

We used it indoors and out in our little garden. Adding soft blankets under and around made it perfect for rolling around on.

Creating different environments and textures added lots of interest for E and gave her new challenges as she had to maneuver over boundaries such as the entrance to the pop up tent. We played pick-a-boo, rolling balls and added extra scarves inside for more things to explore and hide under.

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Posting boxes

A hole cut into an old box for posting and finding objects

This was a great activity we did loads from when E was about 8 months old. Cutting a hole in an old box such as a shoe box creates a place for posting objects. This helps children develop their hand strength and fine motor skills as they coordinate holding the objects and pushing them through the hole. E also liked putting her hand back in the hole to try and feel for the object and bring it back.

Creating a larger posting box encouraged E to stand up as she used the box height for balance. She would also bend down and reach to try and find objects inside the box.

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Climbing and crawling

Pop up tunnel, blankets and basket for new physical challenges

E has now gained a lot more control and strength for crawling and climbing – she is about a year old and has started standing on her own but isn’t walking yet. Creating lots of opportunities for her to move around and build more coordination and balance are great for her physical development. Also making a safe space for her to fall and roll around is a lovely chance for some fun rough and tumble play.

I have used a pop up tunnel which I bought at Morrison’s with a range of cushions and sofa cushions, as well as blankets to create a crawling obstacle course for E to explore.

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Posting spoons

E is about 18 months here and always on the move! Engaging her in activities which allowed me a minute to get jobs done became more and more necessary. This worked really well – I needed a minute to empty the dishwasher which E was really interested in (but not all that helpful with!)

I offered her a selection of plastic spoons and gave her the cutlery rack – she enjoyed fitting the spoons in the holes and taking them out again. It was nice that she felt involved in what I was doing and it was a great activity for her fine motor skills too.

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Box of gadgets

Once E started showing interest in some house hold items like pegs I decided to make up a simple box of bits she could play with. When she was about 18 months old I collected clothes pegs, package clips and the white oval shapes are spare shower curtain hoops.

This range of objects gave E lots of new challenges – pressing the pegs and clips, pulling them open, trying to attach them and remove them from the box or our clothes. The curtain hoops could be pushed together to make a chain which was interesting and we sometimes wore as a necklace or crown.

Everything packed up neatly into an old take away box and could even be taken out for an activity to do at cafes or friend’s houses.

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Pots of curiosity

E is 18 months old here and after the success of the pegs and clips box (see above) I collected a selection of pots and jars from around the house – I used an old vitamin bottle, face cream jar and a couple of spare food storage containers.

I kept them all in a larger plastic box which them made them really easy to store and keep all the bits together. E enjoyed exploring how the pots opened and closed – she started by opening them and later got the strength and skills for putting the lids on. The selection of pots gave her opportunities for twisting, turning, pushing and pulling.

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In and out of boxes

E is about 18 months old here and loves physical play. I tried to find ways to give her new challenges at home that didn’t involve her climbing and jumping off furniture which it seemed she would do at any given opportunity..

Here I have added a some boxes to an obstacle course of cushions and blankets which she really enjoyed climbing in and out of. We also used the blankets for hiding under and making little dens just by lifting the material above my head. We added some soft toys into the play as well sometimes which E liked to throw into the boxes or carry with her. Throughout this play she was building strength, coordination, balance and spacial awareness. It was also great fun rolling around on the floor and being silly!

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Ball pool fun

We first created a home made ball pool when E was about a year old and she enjoyed it until she was about 18 months old. The balls were sold in bags at Tesco for about £2 each, I bought about three packs to fill up our paddling pool with balls instead of water. E enjoyed climbing in and out of the pool, grabbing, holding and throwing the balls. We sometimes also hid toys in the ball pool and then searched for them.

This worked well inside the house and offered quite an exciting activity to do on rainy days when we couldn’t play outside.

As E got older she was less interested in sitting in the ball pool but we found new ways to play with the balls. Here she is about 20 months old and is enjoying transferring the balls from the messy play tray into little buckets and the larger pot. She liked throwing them around the garden and then collecting them back up again. We also played trying to throw them into the pot or buckets.

As E has got older we have passed most of the balls onto friends with smaller children but have kept a few for playing treasure hunt games where we take turns to hide the balls all around the house and garden and then search for them together which is good fun.

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Carrying and balancing

Collecting and carrying buckets of water

This was an unexpected activity that worked really well for E. She is 20 months here and wanted to play with water in a tray outside. Rather than filling up the tray in one go from the hose or tap I filled a large pot with water and then E collected water bit by bit with her own small bucket. She loved doing this and concentrated so hard when walking with the water bucket all the way over to the tray where she poured it out.

We had some steps up to the decking in our garden so she had the extra challenge of climbing up and down the steps whilst carrying the bucket. This activity was great for her coordination and balance and strengthening her skills for climbing steps independently.

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Pasta sorting

As E has got older we have continued to play with dried pasta but in more complex ways. This activity was from when she was about two years old. There are a number of challenges for E here – I encouraged her to use a spoon to transfer pasta from the wooden tray into the metal bowl which was a good fine motor activity.

E also enjoyed role playing a kitchen by filling the bowls and pretending to eat, pouring pasta into and out of the little green jug and tea cup and mixing the pasta as she pretended to cook. I specifically chose different types of spoons and containers as she would need to grip and hold each one differently.

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Pencil grip and mark making

Introducing writing skills

This activity was a way of giving E some awareness of writing and to gently introduce some of the skills needed for this. E is almost two years old here. I covered the coffee table with a big paper so that she could mark make all over it if she wanted to but also offered her specific writing materials like note books and bits of paper. I gave her a selection of pens and pencils for her to practice different ways of holding and griping.

As we played I talked about what we were doing and described different things we might be writing like a shopping list, a letter or messages to each other. E liked having different places to scribble and draw on and enjoyed switching between pens and pencils.

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