Children’s physical well-being, health and motor  

development are cornerstones of early development and  

learning. Motor development is closely linked to  

children’s language development, intellectual  

development, social competence and emotional  

development.

Gross Motor 

1. Provide safe equipment and environments that vary in skill levels  (tricycles, tires, balls, hoops, climbing equipment and a “board on the  floor” for balance beam activities)

2. Teach children new skills ( skip, throw overhand, jump rope, swim, gallop)

3. Provide activities that use one side of the body at the same time. (hopping on  one foot, standing on one foot, do the “hokey, pokey” alternating limbs)

4. Provide opportunities for dance and other movements that use both sides of the  body (bending, twisting, stretching, balancing)

5. Provide the child with a minimum of 60 minutes of organized physical activity  each day (run, play on playground toys, climb, slide, walk up and down steps, roll  a big ball back and forth,  

6. Set up a safe and simple obstacle courses outside and inside where the  child can climb over, under and through things. Incorporate movement to  music.

7. Engage the child in group exercise times/activities (bike/tricycle rides, family  walks, play T-ball, play tag, “short hoop” basketball and kick or throw to friends or  siblings)

8. Provide an opportunity to play in different settings (park, outdoor equipment,  play groups with others children, YMCA, Gymboree, etc.)

Fine Motor Skills 

9. Provide activities that strengthen hand grasp (molding play dough, using a hand  held punch, squeezing a soft rubber ball)

10. Provide opportunities to use a pincher grasp using thumb and forefinger  (removing and gluing stickers to paper, picking up multiple small objects, gluing  small pictures cut out of a magazine to a plain piece of paper)

11.Practice tying, buttoning and beading (stringing large holed beads or  lifesavers candies on a shoelace)

12. Provide an opportunity for the child to use a variety of writing materials  (crayons, pencils, markers, chalk, etc.)  

13. Demonstrate and provide opportunities for the child to use scissors safely 14.Help children work with simple puzzles, using fingers to manipulate items to fit

15.Provide color books with simple outlines for children to practice “staying inside  the lines”.

16.Practice drawing common shapes (horizontal and vertical line, cross,  square, circle, triangle). Do the shapes on a plate in peanut butter  (however beware of nut allergies)

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Some ideas and suggestions listed on this page were taken from :

Washington State Early Learning and Development Benchmarks, State of Washington, 2005 1/4/2010