Motor Skills
There are a variety of activities you can do at home that correlate with the cognitive developmental stage of 2-5 year olds and the typical preschool course of study. Preschool educators say children ages 2-5 should have certain motor skills in order to begin formal academic learning in the school or homeschool environment. Here are the skills they identify:
A child should be able to:
* Run
* Walk a straight line
* Jump
* Hop
* Alternate feet walking down stairs
* March
* Stand on one foot for 5-10 seconds
* Walk backwards for five feet
* Clap hands
* Touch fingers
* Button a garment & zip a zipper
* Throw a ball
* Draw and color beyond a simple scribble
* Control pencil and crayon well
* Copy simple shapes
* Cut simple shapes with scissors (handles scissors well)
* Paste objects
* Build with blocks
* Match simple objects
* Complete simple puzzles (5 pieces or less)
Here are some activities you can do to help your preschooler develop these motor skills.
Developing Motor Skills
Build An Obstacle Course!
One way to improve motor skills, get some exercise, and help your child learn vocabulary and concepts needed for reading readiness skills is to build and use an obstacle course.
Take A Hike!
* Walking and hiking offer opportunities to improve motor skills — especially if you change how you walk. Here are some fun ideas.
Developing Specific Motor Skills
Run
* Take your child to the playground so he/she can run around.
* Play tag or hide and go seek with your child.
* Play the game "Red Light, Green Light 1, 2, 3" Here are the rules.
* Play soccer or kick a ball with your child.
* Try this Learn to Run program designed for children of all ages to do with parental supervision and participation. Parents will need to adjust this program depending on a young child's level of coordination and ability. All you need to get started is a stopwatch and a little energy.
Walk A Straight Line
* Put a line of masking tape on the floor have your child walk along it.
* Show your child how to balance on a curb or a log. (Parent supervision required.)
* Go to the park or the gym and walk along the balancing rod or beam.
* Build your own balance beam in the backyard with these instructions.
Jump
* Visit the playground; encourage your child to jump.
* Play a game with a balloon where you have to jump up to hit the balloon.
* Play jump rope. Here are some instructions. Here are some fun jump rope rhymes.
* Play games like Simon Says. Or play Follow The Leader. First, you jump, then your child tries to jump. Then, you touch your toes, and your child follows your lead. Run in place, swing your arms, and stretch your hands high up to the ceiling. Let your child be the leader and you follow whatever he/she does.
* Do jumping jacks with your child.
Hop
* Teach your child to do The Bunny Hop dance. Listen to the music and read the lyrics here.
* Act like an animal that hops such as a rabbit, kangaroo, or frog.
* Play Hopscotch. This classic game teaches or reinforces counting skills while developing physical coordination. Here are instructions for how to draw a hopscotch grid on the sidewalk, patio, or driveway along with directions on how to play the game. You may also be able to find a hopscotch grid at a local schoolyard.
Alternate Feet Walking Down Stairs
* Practice walking up and down stairs. If you don't have stairs in your home, consider going to an indoor or outdoor public place or building with stairs, for example: the mall, county court house, hotel, etc. Visit a friend or relative that has a home with stairs — ask them if you can practice.
* Play "Follow The Leader" up and down the stairs.
March
* Show your child how to march and how to march in place. It might help to let them see a real marching band at a high school or college football game (or even on television broadcasts of college football games). The movie musical The Music Man features a marching band. Or watch a video of the UCLA marching band.
* Include marching as a direction in games such as: Follow The Leader, Mother May I, and Simon Says.
* Add marching to your daily walking routine.
* March and sing along to The Ants Came Marching.
Stand On One Foot for 5-10 Seconds
* Practice standing on one foot, and invite your child to try it. Time yourselves. How many seconds can you stand on one foot?
* Include standing on one foot as a direction in games such as: Follow The Leader, Mother May I, and Simon Says.
http://www.universalpreschool.com/how-t ... skills.asp
2-5 years old is a wide span... mho
