Helping Your Children Develop Motor Skills

As babies begin to grow, they develop and learn different skills, and many of these skills are learned simply by observing and trying things for themselves. Play is another way they learn. Playing helps to develop their gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are large body movement, like running or jumping, while fine motor skills are small body movement, like coloring and doing other crafts.

Gross and fine motor skills are important for a child to develop and perfect. Without these skills, we would not be able to button our shirts, tie our shoes, write, walk, run, and just about everything else. Helping your child gain this type of coordination can allow them become more independent and will build the foundation for learning later on. A Parents article mentions that a child must first have the ability and coordination to hold a pencil for a long time before they can learn how to write for long periods of time.

As they develop these skills, they will be able to get out of bed, get themselves dressed, brush their teeth, eat on their own, and so much more. At Montessori School of Chantilly, we work hard to help our students develop physically, mentally, and emotionally. We provide a stimulating environment that will help your students stay curious and learning. During our pre-primary program, your kiddo will develop and perfect their fine and gross motor skills.

There are many ways you can help your children with their gross and fine motor skills, including palying. In this blog, we will go over different ways to help your children develop better motor skills. Read on for more!

Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills include jumping, running, throwing, climbing, catching, and other large body movements. As children play, they will gain more control over their body and movement, which will allow them to be more independent and start doing tasks on their own.

Developing gross motor skills can be easy and fun! But what are the right activities to help with the development of gross motor skills? An Extension article mentions a few things that can help with your child’s gross motor skills. Here are some of the activities they mentioned:

  • Running at different speeds
  • Playing hopscotch
  • Jumping rope
  • Throwing and catching balls
  • Climbing on different objects
  • Pulling and pushing toys
  • Pedaling

These types of activities will help your children gain more control and coordination over their body and be able to take part in many different activities. As your child begins to develop these gross motor skills they will also gain more independence and the ability to do things on their own. Playing is a simple way for your children to develop these important skills, just be sure to mix up the activities so they can develop the coordination in their legs and arms.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills involve coordination in the fingers and hands and involve small muscle movements. These skills give people the ability to grasp objects, pick up items, dress themselves, and so much more. When children have trouble with fine motor skills, they will have a harder time building the muscles in their hands, fingers, feet, and toes. But simple and fun activities can allow them to develop these fine motor skills and gain the ability to have control and coordination of their hands and feet.

The Parents article mentioned some of the activities that your child should be able to do as they develop their fine motor skills:

  • Button and unbutton
  • Clap their hands
  • Use a zipper
  • Use crayons and pencils with control
  • Build with blocks

Fine motor skills allow children to do other things that can help them be more independent and do different tasks on their own, these task can include getting dressed on their own, brushing their teeth, feed themselves, picking up toys, and more. Helping your child develop these skills also involves playing!

An Understood article mentions a few different ways to help your child develop and perfect  these fine motor skills. These include playing with playdough, finger painting, colors with crayons, cutting shapes with scissors, and making necklaces are a few of the activities that can help your children. Doing activities that focus on working their hands is what will help!

Gross and fine motor skills are important for your children to learn. These skills will allow them to do different tasks and activities on their own. Helping your children develop and master these skills is as simple as playing and doing activities with them! Start working with your children on their motor skills today and enroll your child at Montessori School of Chantilly to help them get the best education possible. Contact us today to learn more about our programs.