Understanding Gross and Fine Motor Skills Development in Early Childhood

1. WHAT’S YOUR KNOWLEDGE

2. Gross motor skills

3. Developmental tasksEarly childhood What age should a baby: • Hold their head unsupported • Find their hands • Lift their chest off the floor when on tummy • Roll from front to back • Find their genitalia and discover…. • Sit unsupported

4. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a baby: • Rock on hands and knees • Crawl • Pull up on furniture • Cruise around holding onto something • Stand briefly unsupported • Take first steps

5. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a toddler/ preschooler: • Pull along an object while walking • Get off chair without turning • Climb stairs two feet to step • Run carefully • Kick a ball by walking into it • Ride a tricycle using pedals • Jump from bottom step ( both feet together) • Climb stairs alternate feet • Throw a ball overhand, catch large ball with arms out, kick it hard

6. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a preschooler: • Run turning corners skilfully • Climbs everything • Run on tiptoe • In ball games, throw catch, bounce, kick better • Expert tricycle rider • Pick up things by bending from waist with extended knees • Stand on one foot and hop preferred foot • Be Active and skilful in climbing, swinging, digging, sliding • Moves rhythmically to music

7. Fine motor skills

8. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a baby: • Close their hands – thumb outside • Discover their hands –finger play • Takes everything to their mouth • Reach for object with palmar grasp • Passes object from hand to hand • Pokes at small object with finger • Points with finger at distant objects • Grasps small objects with inferior pincer grasp • Can release toy from grasp if dropped or pressing down – not able to place down voluntarily

9. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a baby /toddler: • Point with index finger at objects of interest • Drop and throws toys deliberately • Pick up small objects with neat pincer – tip index and thumb • Have Precise pincer either hand used • Manipulates cubes, can build 2 block tower • Grasps crayon, whole hand using palmar grasp • Imitates scribble to and fro

10. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a toddler: • Pick up small objects with delicate pincer • Hold pencil in mid or upper shaft in whole hand or crude approximation of thumb and fingers • Spontaneous scribble and dots to and fro – sometimes pencils in both hands • Can build 3 block tower after demo, sometimes by their own • Begins to show hand preference

11. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a toddler /Preschooler: • Pick up small objects with delicate pincer • Hold pencil well down shaft using thumb and 2 fingers • Spontaneous circular scribble and to and fro scribble and dots– imitates vertical line and sometimes V shape • Can build 6-7 block tower • Mostly uses preferred hand

12. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a Preschooler: • Can build 7 block tower using preferred hand • Holds pencil preferred hand tripod grasp • Imitates horizontal line and circle, usually T and V • Can build 9-10 block tower • Can build 3 cube bridge from model using 2 hands • Threads large wooden beads onto shoe lace

13. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a Preschooler: • Can close fist and wiggle thumb in imitation right and left • Holds pencil near point in preferred hand between first two fingers and thumb with good control • Copies circle, usually H, T and V • Imitates a cross • Draws a person with head and 1-2 other parts or features • Cuts with toy scissors • Paints with large brush, lots of colour, covering all paper, primitive pictures which they can name

14. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a Preschooler: • Imitate spreading of hand and bringing thumb into opposition with each finger in turn, right and left • Build a 10 + tower and several bridges from model, can build 3 steps after demonstration • Holds pencil in adult fashion with good control • Copies circle, H, T , V, O • Draws a person with head, trunk, legs usually arms and fingers. • Draws a recognisable house on request

15. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a Preschooler: • Picks up and replaces minute objects • Counts fingers on one hand with index finger of the other • Build a elaborate models when shown, 3 steps from 6 cubes and sometimes 4 steps from 10 cubes • Draws with pencils and paint brushes • Copies square, H, T , V, O, L, A, C, U, Y • Writes a few letters spontaneously • Draws a recognisable person with head, trunk, legs arms and features. • Draws a house with door, windows, roof and chimney • Colours pictures neatly within outlines • Copies triangle

16. Language and listening skills

17. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a baby: • Coo, responds to sudden noises • Vocalises happily when spoken too, turns towards sounds, quietens to sounds out of sight • Vocalises tunefully, sing song vowels single / double • Laughs, chuckles, squeals, turns to source • Vocalises as communication, shouts, listens then shouts again • Babbles tunefully, long repetitive strings syllables, dada,mama,agaga • Know and responds to own name

18. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a toddler: • 2 words plus mum and dad, understands no, bye,bye • 5words, obeys simple instructions, points to communicate • 6- 20 words, chats to themselves • Echoes last word/ sentence spoken, Listens and responds to spoken communication • Attempts to sing

19. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a toddler/ preschooler: • Two word sentences, uses 50 or more words, begins to listen to general conversation, refers to self by name • Echolalia, asks names for things, carries out simple instructions • Uses 200 + words but pronunciation and sentence structure immature • Constantly asks what, who • May stutter

20. Developmental tasks Early childhood What age should a preschooler: • Large vocab intelligible to strangers, talks to self in long monologues • Asks what, where, who, listens to stories, knows several nursery rhymes, able to describe present and past activities briefly • Speech grammatically correct, may have a few mispronunciations, listens too and tells long stories, confuses fact and fantasy, enjoys jokes • Loves to be read / told stories and act them out • Ask meanings of abstract words and uses them, define correct nouns by use, enjoys jokes and riddles • 5000 word vocab

21. Developmental milestones http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?Article=482

22. Developmental Bingo • From cry to 5000 words and beyond • From scribble to Picasso • From gorgeous slug to junior athlete An amazing journey – the first twelve years babyhood to adolescence.