All the ice in town melted after an unusually warm day. So today we decided to pretend ice skate indoors, instead!

This gross motor activity couldn’t be easier or more fun. To start, Veronika and I decorated paper plates with crayons. You don’t actually even have to do this part, but it was fun to add an arts & crafts component to the game. Veronika scribbled in her favorite colors while I drew something that sort of resembled ice skates on a few other plates.

Time to lace up! By which I mean, simple help your child place one foot on each plate and start to glide.

Veronika got the hang of it immediately; I was impressed with how sturdy she was, and how quickly she mastered the motion.

She loved holding hands for a few loops around the house but soon was brave enough to strike out on her own.

The only frustration was that her feet popping off the plates. I asked her if she wanted to wear socks and have me fasten her in with a strap of tape, but she preferred bare feet. So we just dealt with this minor inconvenience.

Here she is carefully putting her “skates” back on after coming off the plates. She was one determined skater!