Therapy Resource Pack Contents:

• Sequence of Development

• Gross Motor Skills and Activities

• Fine Motor Development and Activities

• Ergonomics I Tips for the Classroom

SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT

Writing, re~ding, spellin.g,

concentration, problem s~hting

Motor skills . ~~ '

: Perceptua:l ~kills ·

Muscle tone, posture, balance, bilateral integration, motor .planning

SENSES

Pain, temperature, smell, taste, auditory, vision, proprtoception, gravity, touch,

movement

1

FiM /Mtor Skills e: .. VIsual Perc:ept»n

Gross Motor Skills

Definition:

What are Gross Motor Skills?

Gross motor skills involve the large muscles of the body that enable functions such as walking, kicking, sitting upright, lifting, and throwing a ball. A person's gross motor skills depend on both muscle tone and strength. Low muscle tone, or hypotonia, is a characteristic of several disabling conditions such as Down syndrome, genetic or muscle disorders, or central nervous system disorders.

Gross Motor Ability is a Critical Life Skill:

Gross Motor skills are important for major body movement such as walking, maintaining balance, coordination, jumping, and reaching. Gross motor abilities share connections with other physical functions. A child's ability to maintain upper body support, for example, will affect his ability to write. Writing is a fine motor skill. Children with poor gross motor development may have difficulty with activities such as writing, sitting up in an alert position, sitting erect to watch classroom activity, and writing on a blackboard.

Even at the young age of 3, 4, or 5, children need many opportunities for physical activity, both for good health and for skill­building. At this age, kids are busy developing gross motor skills, learning to use the large muscles in their legs, arms, and trunk to run, jump, throw, catch, and kick. They are also working on fine motor skills, although those develop a bit later than gross motor skills. Still, you'll want to provide children with plenty of time to work all their muscles, both big and small.

2

Gross motor skills include:

• balance - the ability to maintain equilibrium • body awareness- for improved posture and control • crossing of the mid-line • laterality - awareness of the left and right sides of the body • major muscle co-ordination • spatial orientation - awareness of the body position 1n space

and in relation to other objects or people

There are many activities we can do with children to improve gross motor skills:

Gross Motor Activity ideas:

• Wheelbarrow walking: - Start by holding onto the child at the knees - Upgrade by eventually holding onto the child's feet - Ensure that the child keeps his head up and forward - The child's hand should face forward and not to the side - Don't let the child collapse his back

3

• Crab walking: - Practice this movement in stationery first - Move forwards, backwards and to the sides - The child can place bean bags onto his stomach - Upgrade by kicking a ball while in this position

• Walking with a bean bag on head: The child can walk around on their feet or on their knees

with a bean bag on his head

• Skateboard while on stomach: The child can lie on his stomach on a skateboard and propel himself forward using his arms

- Ensure that his legs are straight

• Sit ups The child can lie on his back and sit up slightly, just so that his shoulders are raised off of the floor, you can throw a bean bag or ball to him as he does this.

4

Statues Game

Play some music and dance. When the music stops the child has to FREEZE! In class, I incorporate the theme of that week into the game. For instance, when we were learning about Autumn, I would tell the children to freeze in the shape of a tree.

- Music is a wonderful medium for play. Even young children love to bounce, sway and wiggle to the music. When they get older, you can make instruments such as paper plate tambourines, an oatmeal box drum, or noisemakers from paper towel rolls, or filling up 20 oz. bottles with various things to make noise (rice, water and confetti, beans, coins etc). This is a great way to get the children to march with their knees high for a parade or play "follow the leader".

• Animal Walks: - Frog jumps - Bear walk

Donkey kick - Snake slithering - Galloping like a horse

5

• Dancing, either freestyle or through songs with movements, such as "I'm a Little Teapot," "The Wheels on the Bus," or "Popcorn": I'm a piece of popcorn, put me in a pan/Shake me, shake me, as fast as you can (child shimmies, shakes, and jumps)/And I ... will ...

(child crouches down low) ... POP!" (child jumps as high as he can) .

• Jumprope

A classic game that helps children with their co-ordination and spatial orientation (the awareness of their bodies with relation to other objects around them).

• Playing Hopscotch

This game helps children practice their balance and coordination.

• Hula Hoops

A great way to get children to move around their bodies. Hula hoop on your legs, arms and neck as well as your stomach.

6

Obstacle Courses:

You can use anything you already own to have the child walk, run, or ride through. Jump ropes ... lay them out on the ground and have the child jump over them or walk between the lines of two of them.

Hula hoops ... step into and out of, or jump into and out of.

Cones ... have the children walk around them or ride on bikes and ride on toys around the cones.

Tires ... lay the tire on the floor and do sitting bouncing on them around the whole tire, or step into and out of them.

Ball Games

One of the easiest gross motor activities for preschoolers is playing ball games. Soccer or baseball help preschoolers practice their throwing and catching, kicking, and hitting. Ball games also help children develop their spatial orientation and their laterality (being aware of the right and left sides of their bodies).

__ . ..s::--.--r-t ....... ':"/V1..-v~~ ·~ ___,_ -..."\_ ... - . -c::.~· -

• Aeroplane: The child should lie on his stomach with his arms outstretched and legs straight at the knees

- He should lift his head and shoulders while you roll a ball to him

7

• Foot Basket Ball:

The child should lie on his back and place a ball or bean bag between his feet

- He raises his feet into the air and over his head to dump the ball into a hoolahoop or bucket

- Ensure that his back remains flat on the floor - The child should not twist his body while moving

Shake it!

In this body awareness gross motor activity for preschoolers game, get your child to identify body parts and then shake them. Shake your head, knees, hands, arms and so on.

Ankle walk

This is a great game for early childhood physical development. Get the child to hold their ankles with their hands and walk. This is a great way to improve their coordination and directional awareness.

Red Light, Green Light

A simple way to practice road rules. Green light means go (or run), and red light means stop (or stand).

8

What time is it Mr. Wolf?

The 'wolf' stands on one end of the yard with his back turned and everyone else is all the way on the other side. All the children ask: "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" and the wolf answers with a time, the children would then have to walk steps corresponding to the time (e.g. if it was 5 o'clock, the children would have to take 5 steps). The game continues in the line of questioning until the wolf thinks the children are close, in which case he or she would reply "LUNCH TIME!" and would turn around and try to catch the children. Whoever is caught becomes the wolf in the next round. This game is one of the loved gross motor activities for preschoolers.

Duck Duck Goose

The classic game can be played anywhere and anytime, but the only downfall is that you need at least six to ten children. The children sit in a circle and one child walks around the outside of the circle tapping the others' heads and saying: "Duck, duck, duck ... Goose!" Whoever is the "Goose" needs to get up and run after

the first child before they reach their spots back in the circle. If they are caught then they go into the chicken soup (the centre of the circle). You can vary this game by using any other two word such as: circle/square, cow/horse and my son's favourite hotdog/hamburger.

Mirror Game

Here is another simple early childhood physical development game. In partners, the children face one another (or you can play this at home with your child), and one partner plays the part of the 'reflection' of the other. When the child jumps, the partner needs to jump. When the child touches their nose, the partner needs to touch their nose. This helps in body awareness.

9

My body

Get the children to point to their nose, their toes, or they can put their elbows on their knees. Create many combinations and get the children to come up with new combinations. This gross motor activity for preschoolers is also a great way to teach children body awareness.

I'm a basket

Lying on their stomach, bending their knees, get your child to hold on to their ankles and sway from side to side like a basket. This is a great exercise that stretches their muscles, and teaches co­ordination and balance. Children love these simple gross motor activities for preschoolers.

10