DEVELOPMENT OF GROSS AND FINE MOTOR SKILLS IN

CHILDRENBy: Marieke Huijzer

GROSS MOTOR - Gross motor skills can be defined as:

Skills that involve the entire body, in particular the large muscles of the body.

- Examples of some basic gross motor skills are:

Standing, walking, controlling movements of the legs and arms.

GROSS MOTOR MILESTONES Infant rolls over Infant can sit up on its own Crawling Standing Walking Running Pick up toy without falling over Walks up and down steps

Standing on one foot Kick and throw a ball Jumping Catch small ball using only hands - These milestones will continue to improve and increase in difficulty.

- Motor activity levels will peak off at about 7-9 years old

SUPPORTING GROSS DEVELOPMENT - Allowing children the freedom where they can develop gross motor skills. eg. If an infant is always put in a baby swing they will not get the opportunity to learn to roll over.

- Especially in infancy, a lot of practice is required to develop gross motor skills. Eg. Learning to stand up on their own or walk does not happen overnight.

FINE MOTOR - Fine motor skills can be defined as: Skills that involve the hand and fingers working together to perform tasks.

- For example: Writing, cutting, weaving, eating using utensils, etc.

FINE MOTOR MILESTONES Reflexive grasp Palmar grasp Put object in mouth Pincer grasp Drop and pick up toy Build tower of blocks Turns nob Self-feeds

Sign language Holds crayon Manipulate playdough - this is only a small sample of some of the fine motor milestone an infant will achieve

SUPPORTING FINE DEVELOPMENT Providing children with materials and activities that would require them to use their hands and fingers. Eg. Instead of chopping up an infants food so that an adult can feed the child, cut the food into strips or large enough pieces so that the child can grab the food and bring it up to it’s mouth.

FINE DEVELOPMENT CONTD.

Crayons can be found in various shapes and sizes to support the fine motor skills of a child. There are many other projects that allow the child to reach fine motor milestones.

PERSONAL INTEREST As an ECE student we are learning about all the different aspects of child development.

- Fine and gross motor skills in children can influence what kind of activities you plan for the children.

- eg. It would be unprofessional for me to ask a toddler to tie their own shoes.

PERSONAL INTERESTS CONTD.

- Finding activities for the children that are developmentally appropriate will boost the child’s self confidence when they succeed.

- Making the activities hard enough to challenge their fine and gross motor skills will also make the child think and improve their skills.

- Children are the future so it is our job to support them positively in their development.

MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE - Having the knowledge of fine and gross motor development will allow me to focus my daily activities on supporting the child’s development.

- In a school setting the children might not get the same quality time to spend on motor development as they have a limited amount of time to learn certain concepts.

MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE CONTD.

In a large Early Childhood setting many different play areas can be set up that will allow children at different stages in their development to still interact and play with each other.

MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE CONTD.

For example: - At a manipulatives table the educator can provide a puzzle for older children and an activity with magnets for younger children. Both age groups are able to try both of the activities without feeling frustrated but it can also be a challenge for the older child to push themselves to create bigger and better things with the magnets than the smaller child.

REFERENCES Boyd, D., Johnson, O., & Bee, H. (2015). Lifespan Development. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA: Pearson Education, Inc.

http://www.childdevelopment.com.au/home/184 http://www.childdevelopment.com.au/home/183 Images: http://www.actionballkids.co.za/pt-programs/gross-fine-motor-skills/ http://www.babywisemom.com/2007/12/solids-how-much-food-will-baby-eat.html https://lookfordiagnosis.com/mesh_info.php?term=motor+skills&lang=1 http://www.therapiesforkids.com.au/conditions/gross-motor-milestones/ http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-become-a-preschool-teacher.htm http://www.appletreedaycare.com/programs/preschool/layout/