Activities like this are insanely easy to do , and so beneficial. Using a balance beam is a great gross motor activity that of course encourages development of balance but it also is fantastic at confidence building, and you don’t need to go to a gym class to do all that!
- Gather your materials. I am using a left over 2 x 4 my husband had in the garage. I made sure it was smooth before bringing it inside.
- I popped it on my rug and that’s it !
- We pretended to be pirates walking the plank, sneaky foxes on our tippy toes and played follow the leader all using this little piece of wood.
Sometimes the very simplest things are the most fun !
sunnymama says
Such a simple idea, but it’s great!
Marianna says
ooo, i love this idea! we have tons of wood in the shed, i’ll have to give this a try.
Annie's Alphabet says
I love your blog! Great Ideas! We do this outside too with many pieces of wood.
I put your button on my blog. 🙂
Beverly says
Oh this is a great idea! Noah loves doing this with his physical therapist but I will need to do that here at home! Thanks!
Where's The Aspirin? says
Great idea. The kids will love it. I only hope they don’t try to use it on each other! 😛
Bernadete says
Thanks for the idea!
Allie says
Funny you should say that I was worried that my son would try to pick it up the first time we did it a while back. He has no one to smack it with except me though so I would watch anyone carefully !
johanna says
simple but genius!!
Annette says
You are so clever…creative. Thanks for all you share!
Anne says
my husband has one that his great grand father made. We got it out a couple of months ago and everyone from my 5 year old to his 84 year old great grandfather tried it.
Lori says
Another simple yet wonderful idea, especially for my little girl who needs some special work on coordination. Thanks so much for sharing!
Jen says
Great idea! I bet he loved it!
Jen
Creative and Curious Kids!
http://raisingcreativeandcuriouskids.blogspot.com
SkylarKD says
Such a great idea! I’ll have to peek on our garage tomorrow.
Andrea says
You have to listen to Laurie Berkner's "Balance Beam" song, you're sure to start singing it anytime a balancing opportunity comes up. You can preview it here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CET7RU/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk16?ie=UTF8&qid=1236784519&sr=8-1
Ashlyn Brunson says
That sounds great! My two year old loves balancing on the arm of the sofa (I am so scared he will fall, so I stand right next to him), so I’m sure he will love this activity. It is also something he can do without me worrying he is going to break his neck 🙂
Ashlyn says
Hey look someone has my name and her son is two! Besides that, I have a question. Did you actually go buy that piece of wood or just had it sitting around. I was just curious because I didn’t want to go buy the wood. Also, did you sand down the edges or sides at all?
Thanks!
Ashlyn
Ashlyn says
Whoops! I totally didn’t read the first little introduction up top which answered both my questions. Sorry!
Leeanne A says
Balance beams on line are so expensive – so this is a great alternative! I have a toddler classroom so this would be just right for them! I want to link your Idea on my facebook page!
Jamie @ hands on : as we grow says
This has been something on my list for ages! So glad to hear you guys had fun doing it. We have so many boards lying around, just not very clean to bring in the house… maybe an outdoor plank is in order 🙂
admin says
I love when old posts get revived – it reminds me to do it with my daughter . I still have this piece of wood and I am going to grab it out tomorrow.