Preschool Developmental Achievements at Happy Hours Nursery School

GROSS MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT:

Gross Motor Skills (walking, running, jumping, climbing, balance, strength)

Gross Motor development involves the larger, stronger muscle groups of the body. In early childhood, it is the development of these muscles that enable the baby to hold his/her head up, sit, crawl and eventually walk, run and skip.

Between the ages of 3 – 4 years, we ensure that our children can

  • Run around obstacles
  • Walk on a line
  • Balance on one foot for 5 – 10 seconds
  • Hop on his/her preferred foot
  • Ride a tricycle
  • Walk up and down stairs with alternating feet, without support
  • Jump from 12 inches with feet together
  • Use a slide independently
  • Climb well (not including ladders)
  • Skip, leading with 1 leg

Between the ages of 4 – 5 years, we ensure that our children can:

  • Walk a balance beam forwards & backwards
  • Perform somersaults
  • Balance on 1 foot for 8 – 10 seconds
  • Skip, alternating feet
  • Begin to jump rope
  • Throw a ball to hit a target
  • Jump back
  • Pump and maintain momentum while on a swing (may be started with a forward push)
  • Hop 5 times on 1 foot
  • Climb the rungs of a playground slide ladder

FINE MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT AT OUR SCHOOL

Fine Motor Skills (colouring, cutting, beading, lego, drawing)

“Fine motor” refers to the movements we make with the small muscles of the hands. Children start to use their hands right at birth to explore their own bodies and the world around them. Their fine motor skills develop as their whole body starts to move and become more stable. They also learn to do more things with their hands as their cognitive and social/emotional skills improve.

Below are some of the typical developmental milestones for fine motor skills.

  • Between the ages of 3-4 years, your child will:
  • Build a tower of 9-10 small blocks
  • Use playdough to make balls, snakes, cookies, etc.
  • Build things with large linking blocks
  • Draw a circle by herself
  • Start to hold a crayon or pencil with a mature grasp (like an adult)
  • Cut across a piece of paper
  • Start to cut along a straight line
  • Put on most items of clothing by herself, but may still need help with shirts and jackets
  • Feed himself well with a spoon and fork