Session 1

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Introduction

 

What are the skills involved in learning how to crawl, walk, or run; and at what age do children typically gain those skills? How do infants learn to co-ordinate the use of their hands? How do maturation and experience affect children’s motor skills?

 

In Session 1 you will learn about the stages of physical development from birth to six years of age. After examining some of the factors that may influence children’s physical growth and motor development, you will consider and propose ways of promoting physical development for children in a child care setting. This session also discusses aspects of children’s physical safety.

 

Getting Focused Activity: Simon Says

 

Focus

 

Do you remember what it was like to learn a musical instrument, play a new sport, or drive a stick shift? Each of these activities requires the use of motor skills.

 

Young children are moving constantly, trying out their developing motor abilities, and using these abilities to explore and learn.

 

Directions

 

Step 1: Read the introduction to the game Simon Says.

 

Step 2: Complete Getting Focused Activity: What I Already Know About Children’s Physical Development.

 

 

Checking In

 

 

 

Save the Getting Focused Activity in the appropriate sub-folder of your course folder.

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Inquiry 1: Physical Development

 

To gain an overview of the physical development of children between the ages of birth to six years, watch the video “Physical Development.”

 

By understanding how children grow and change, you are better able to respond to each child’s needs. This process of growth and change is called development. Children develop socially, physically, intellectually, creatively, and emotionally. Perhaps the easiest growth to recognize is physical development.

 

The physical development of young children takes them from infancy (when they have little mobility and little control over their movements) to childhood (when their movements are highly refined, allowing them to participate in a wide variety of activities and choices). Physical development consists of a coming together of gross motor development, fine motor development, and sensory perceptual development.

 

 

 

Course Project

 

 

 

This is your first reminder to start thinking about your Course Project: Strategies Box. As you progress through this session, you should be working on items and strategies to include in your strategies box. How can you apply the information from the video about physical development to items and strategies for your box?

 

Gross Motor Development

 

 

Gross motor (large muscle) development involves the control of large muscles of the legs, arms, back, and shoulders needed for movements such as running, jumping, climbing, and crawling.

 

Walking from place to place, running, jumping, hopping, and throwing are key play skills. Balancing is also an important skill for children to learn. All of these skills become more advanced as children develop coordination during the preschool years.

 

Consider the following examples of gross motor activities:

• chasing bubbles
• walking on a rainbow path taped to the floor
• crawling through a maze made out of cardboard boxes
• dancing to music
• putting a blanket on a chair to make a tent
• stepping through tires
• doing somersaults
• rolling like a log down an incline
• playing with a parachute
• stepping in and out of hoops lying on the ground
• climbing steps on the slide
• throwing bean bags
• throwing balls
• pulling and pushing wagons
• riding toys and bikes
• riding a bouncing toy
• filling and emptying sand buckets
• following the leader
• rolling a ball to a partner
• hopping on one foot
• playing catch
• climbing playground equipment

Fine Motor Development

 

Fine motor (small muscle) development is involved in the use of small muscles of the fingers and hands. These muscles are needed for holding eating utensils (e.g., spoons), writing, drawing, and doing up buttons. During the infant and toddler years, children develop basic grasping and manipulation skills. The preschooler uses these skills to hold utensils, put on socks, and draw pictures. Playing with manipulatives improves fine motor skills.

 

Consider the following examples of fine motor activities:

• putting together puzzles
• drawing
• painting
• gluing
• placing pegs in a peg board
• manipulating objects to fit inside other objects
• playing with blocks
• rolling trucks and cars
• dressing dolls
• latching clothing
• pouring sand or water
• sifting sand or water
• manipulating eating utensils
• turning pages
• combing hair
• brushing teeth

Sensory Perceptual Development

 

Children learn information through their senses. As they move their small and large muscles and use their sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, they are learning about the world.

 

Hand-eye coordination is also part of physical development. The term kinesthetic awareness describes the sense of awareness and feeling for the child’s body in space. This skill helps children make judgments about movement.

 

Physical growth refers to changes in body characteristics such as height, weight, muscle, and bone development. Patterns of physical growth and motor development are predictable, but each child is unique and develops at her or his own rate. Development is the outcome of growth, maturation, and learning.

 

Maturation refers to the gradual changes in the child’s body due to normal growth processes. As children mature, they become more able to learn certain skills. Again, individual children develop at their own individual rates.

 

 

Course Project

 

 

 

Now that you have looked at the difference between fine and gross motor skills, take time to apply this information to making items and strategies for your strategies box.

 

Developmental Milestones from Birth to Five Years

 

The table “Developmental Milestones from Birth to Five Years” provides information on typical development by age. As always, remember that individual children develop at their own individual rates.

 

 

Checking My Understanding

 

 

 

Physical Abilities of Young Children

 

Directions

 

In this “Physical Abilities of Young Children” drag-and-drop activity, you will determine whether each activity would promote gross or fine motor development and for which age group the activity would be most suitable.

 

 

Course Project

 

 

 

How do the items and strategies in your strategies box promote children’s development of gross and fine motor skills at different ages? Remember, it is recommended that you work on making your strategies box as you progress through this and the other sessions in CCS3120.

 

Factors Affecting Physical Growth and Motor Development

 

Gender

 

There are few differences in the physical growth of boys and girls. While girls do typically mature earlier than boys, in early childhood the differences between them are most often related to differing expectations for boys and girls. For example, even as toddlers, boys are more often encouraged to participate in active games, whereas girls are encouraged in quiet play, such as doing puzzles.

 

Can you observe these differences during your interactions or as you watch others interacting with young children?

 

Culture

 

Children all over the world are brought up in different ways. Some skills may be mastered earlier than others because those skills are necessary in a family’s culture. For example, a very young child may be encouraged to learn the coordinated fine motor skills necessary to sew, weave, or use chopsticks depending on his or her family’s culture.

 

Environment or Life Experiences

 

The environment in which a child lives and learns can influence the child’s growth and motor development. Consider the following factors.

• Opportunity. The opportunity a child has to gain or practise a particular skill can determine whether or not and at what age the skill is learned. Opportunities to learn include not only the equipment and materials the child has to play with, but also whether the child is encouraged to try an activity.

• Stimulation and Affection. Stimulation and affection are necessary for children to grow and develop, particularly in the early years. Research has shown that infants who receive little caring and/or stimulation develop much more slowly than those who receive a lot of caring and/or stimulation.

• Climate. Climate creates different opportunities for children’s physical development. For example, a child who grows up in a cold climate learns how to move in heavy clothing in the snow or on ice.

• Safety. Safety is another important aspect of the environment. Children must have a safe physical environment as they grow and develop skills. The following safety considerations are particularly important.
  – Be aware of the safety of playground equipment as well as the child’s safety while using the equipment. Be sure that children are using the equipment appropriately. Also ensure that the playground surface is free from objects that could cause harm (e.g., glass, sharp twigs, needles).
  – Consider age level of the children and food allergies and restrictions when planning snacks, meals, and cooking activities (e.g., peanut allergies).
  – Staff should update their first-aid and CPR training annually.
  – Select appropriate equipment and materials for the age level. Some materials that children enjoy should be used only with adequate supervision (e.g., climbing equipment).
  – Follow safety guidelines when choosing and maintaining play equipment to prevent safety hazards.

Nutrition

 

Good nutrition provides the foundation for growth and, therefore, development. Poor nutrition in infants can lead to slow or impaired growth. Continuous poor nutrition does not provide adequate energy for active learning. Did you know that children learn to eat a variety of foods if they are offered a variety of healthy foods? Did you know that lifelong beliefs, attitudes, and habits about food and health are established in early childhood?

 

For more information about the nutritional needs of young children and/or ideas for how to promote healthy eating habits among children, check out information provided by Health Canada. You might try an Internet search using the term “Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide.”

 

Health

 

Children who are often ill lose opportunities for active play that promotes healthy physical development. Paying close attention to controlling the spread of germs will help ensure that children are healthy and have the desire and energy to play. More information on controlling the spread of germs will be provided in CCS3150.

 

Heredity

 

Heredity refers to the biological traits you get from your birth parents. Height, weight, aspects of body structure, and the rate of body growth can be hereditary. For example, a child’s height may be like the height of one or both of his or her biological parents.

 

Diverse Abilities

 

Children’s physical development may be limited by their diverse abilities or by exceptions to their abilities. For example, a child with serious asthma may not be able to run to the same extent as other children. Some children may require special assistance and/or adaptations to equipment based on their abilities or special circumstances.

 

All children, regardless of their abilities and any special circumstances to their abilities,

• have self-concepts that need to be enhanced through movement experiences
• need attention and have feelings
• need to feel wanted and loved
• process information
• have desires to improve their motor proficiency
• vary in their individual movement ability
• need encouragement and to be challenged
• need their successes celebrated
• want and benefit from being involved in decision-making processes

Attitude

 

Active play is important for children. The value of physical activity as a lifelong habit should be reinforced from the time a child is very young. Physical activity is not something done “in between” learning activities at the centre. Rather, physical activity must be viewed as one of the most important learning activities of the day.

 

Course Completion Checklist

 

Have you remembered to update your Course Completion Checklist? If you haven’t already started to use the checklist, access it in the Toolkit now. Remember to update the Course Completion Checklist every time you work on the course.

 

 

Course Project

 

 

 

Don’t forget to apply what you have learned to working on your Course Project: Strategies Box. Remember that you won’t always be reminded to work on your strategies box. It is a good idea to spend some time on your strategies box at the end of each inquiry, if not more often.

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Learning Activity 1: Finger Play Reflections

 

Focus

 

Finger plays are a fun way for children to develop fine motor skills. They are useful tools for introducing concepts such as counting, body parts, pairs, and so on. Finger plays are also useful for helping children learn to follow directions.

 

Directions

 

Step 1: Perform an Internet search using the term “finger plays” to find some finger plays. You might remember some favourites from your childhood, such as “Two Little Blackbirds,” “Ten Fingers,” “Five Little Birdies,” “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “This Old Man,” and “Where Is Thumbkin?” Choose one finger play and practise performing it.

 

 

 

Step 2: Go to the child care facility and teach the finger play to two or more children of approximately the same age.

 

 

 

Step 3: As you watch the children learning the finger play, observe the following:

• Are the children learning the finger play at the same pace?
• Is each child’s level of interest consistent throughout the finger play?
• Do the children do the actions in exactly the same way?

If acceptable to staff and parents of children at the child care centre, have a colleague take a photograph or photographs of you engaging in this activity with the children.

 

 

Step 4: Complete Learning Activity 1: Finger Play Reflections.

 

 

Step 5: Review the Student Rubric for Learning Activity 1: Finger Play Reflections. Assess the quality of your reflection and make any necessary adjustments. Don’t forget to complete the Reflections section on the Student Rubric.

 

 

Checking In

 

 

 

Save your completed learning activity and your self-assessment in the appropriate sub-folder of your course folder.

If possible, include any photographs taken at the child care facility.

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Inquiry 2: The Role of the Child Care Provider in Children’s Physical Development

 

So far in this session you have had opportunities to learn about children’s physical development milestones. As a child care provider, you can use the following strategies to promote children’s physical development:

• Provide a variety of indoor and outdoor activities that promote physical development.

• Model a positive attitude about both indoor and outdoor activities. As a child care provider, be sure to dress appropriately for the weather conditions. For example, in cold weather, wear boots, mittens, a warm jacket, and a hat. If you are not dressed appropriately, you may want to return indoors before the children are ready.

• Be an active role model. Participate in activities and games instead of watching from the side. Being involved helps to keep kids participating in the activity.

• Ensure that the children have at least 30 minutes per day of outdoor play time.

• Maintain appropriate staff-to-child ratios at all times to ensure child safety.

• Ask open-ended questions that lead children to participate in discovering new skills (e.g., How can we get the ball from here to there?).
  
  

  open-ended question: a type of question that has no right or wrong answer

   

  There are many correct answers to an open-ended question.

  
  
  
• Ensure that the indoor and outdoor gross and fine motor equipment is in good repair and is age-appropriate for the child.
  
  
• Consider each child’s ability, interest, culture, and progression of skill before planning and carrying out new activities.
  
  
• Provide a variety of games and activities that are interesting and challenging to the children.
  
  
• Ensure that activities and games do not leave out some children and that the activities do not encourage children to compete against one another.
  
  
• Follow the safety guidelines for each piece of equipment (e.g., age restrictions and the number of children who can safely play on the equipment).
  
  
• When using outdoor playgrounds or public parks, ensure that a child care provider inspects the surface area and the equipment for foreign objects that may be dangerous to children.
  
  
• Present activities in a way that will be interesting to children.
  
  
• Plan music and movement activities every day.
  
  
• Balance activities that focus on gross motor skills with activities that focus on fine motor skills.

Environmental Checklist

 

When planning to develop fine and gross motor skills, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is there adequate space between activities and gross motor equipment for children to move and play?
  
  
• Is all equipment in good repair, safe, and age-appropriate for the children using the equipment?
  
  
• Are pictures that depict children engaged in physical activity placed around the play space?
  
  
• Are there toys and games from other parts of the world? (Use families as resources or investigate at your local library.)
  
  
• Is there a variety of materials for gross and fine motor play (e.g., balls and crayons)?
  
  
• Are there posted pictures of past field trips or activities that display the children engaged in a gross motor activity (e.g., a visit to a sports centre)?
  
  
• Are children aware of rules and safety guidelines for gross motor play (e.g., number of children that can safely play on a structure)?
  
  
• Do all cushioned surfaces meet safety requirements?
  
  
• Is the outdoor play space free from foreign objects that could cause children harm (e.g., glass)?

Integrating Children with Diverse Abilities into Gross and Fine Motor Activities

 

Have you ever been excluded? Have you ever seen a child being excluded? As a child care provider, it is critical that you always make sure all children are being included.

 

Children with physical differences may benefit from the following:

• rhythm and music activities

• sensory motor activities (touch or balance activity)

• perceptual motor activities, such as balance and spatial relationships

• games and activities that require cooperation

• assistance from occupational or physical therapist regarding how best to facilitate movements

• an emphasis on fun rather than on skill or accuracy

• activities that provide rest and relaxation

• adapting equipment when necessary

Children with hearing differences may benefit from the following:

• a communication system such as using hand gestures
• balance activities
• rhythmic activities
• games and activities that require little or no auditory input
• consistent motor routines
• simple stunts and trampoline activities

Children with visual differences may benefit from the following:

• buddy systems during games and activities
• orientation to the equipment and space
• equipment with bright or sharp contrast of colours or raised edges
• consistent motor routines
• auditory cues to signal changes (e.g., whistles or clapping)
• beeper and bell balls to help locate objects
• rhythmic activities
• various types of movements (e.g., slow, fast, hopping, crawling, and so on)

 

Course Project

 

 

 

How is your strategies box coming along? Are the items and strategies in your box inclusive of children with diverse physical abilities? Now would be a good time to add items and strategies that address the needs of a variety of children to your strategies box.

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Learning Activity 2: A Practical Approach for Developing Children’s Physical Development

 

Focus

 

As a child care provider it is important that you plan activities that support and stimulate children’s gross motor skill development by including opportunities for children to jump, bounce, reach, throw, climb, roll, and so on. It is also important that you effectively introduce these activities in clear, fun, and interesting ways that encourage children to get involved.

 

Directions

 

Step 1: Choose a song or alternative activity that promotes children’s gross motor skills. Some suggestions include the following:

• “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”
• “Shake My Sillies Out”
• “The Ants Go Marching One by One”
• “If You Are Happy and You Know It”
• “This Old Man”
• “The Chicken Dance”
• “The Hokey Pokey”
• “Ring Around the Rosie”
• “I’m a Little Teapot”
• “The Macarena”

If you are unfamiliar with the above songs, use the Internet or ask someone in the child care centre to teach you the tune, words, and actions for these or other songs.

 

Words and actions for a song can be changed or modified as needed and as appropriate. If you are developing an alternative activity, you might include actions such as the following:

• walking
• hopping
• galloping
• creeping
• running
• leaping
• climbing
• jumping
• skipping
• rolling

Step 2: Identify which age group you would teach the activity song to. Using the developmental milestones presented in Inquiry 1, determine why you think the activity song is appropriate for the age group you have chosen.

 

Step 3: Plan how you would teach the activity song to the age-appropriate group of children. For example, consider the following questions:

• Will you explain the actions included in the activity song to the children with words, with demonstrations, or with both words and demonstrations?

• If you are teaching a song, will you teach the words before, after, or at the same time as teaching the actions?

• How will you motivate the children to participate in the activity song?

• How will you ensure the inclusion of all of the children, and how will you modify the activity song, if necessary, for the children’s diverse physical abilities?

• What type of teaching space (indoors or outdoors) will you use?

• Will you include music? If so, where will you get the music and what device will you use to play the music?

• Will you need to include any equipment? If so, how or where will you access the equipment?

• Will there be safety risks to the children? If so, how will you minimize the risk?

Step 4: Practise teaching the activity song to a peer, a friend, or a group of peers and/or friends. Give the Peer Rubric for Learning Activity 2: A Practical Approach for Developing Children’s Physical Development to at least one peer or friend, and have that person assess your teaching demonstration. Make any necessary adjustments to your work. Practise demonstrating teaching the activity song as many times as you feel necessary.

 

 

Step 5: Teach the activity song to either an actual or an imaginary group of children. Prior to beginning to teach, explain the age of the children and why the activity song is suitable for that age group. Be sure to base your explanation on children’s physical development milestones.

 

It must also be clear how you will include children of diverse physical abilities in the activity song. If there are children with diverse physical abilities in your group, you will demonstrate your strategy by including those children. If you will not be demonstrating your strategy for inclusion, you can write about your strategy and save your information in your course folder.

 

 

 

Checking In

 

 

 

Save your peer assessment in the appropriate sub-folder of your course folder.

 

In consultation with your teacher, choose a suitable method for you to demonstrate to your teacher how you would teach the activity song to children. You might use one of the following methods to demonstrate your teaching method to your teacher:

• Make a recording of your teaching session in a format that is acceptable to your teacher.
  
  
• If you are teaching real children, as opposed to imaginary children, invite your teacher to sit in on your teaching session in person or by webcam.

 

 

Course Project

 

 

 

How might you apply the thinking and work you have done in Learning Activity 2 to items and strategies in your strategies box? Remember to build your strategies box as you progress through the course.

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Inquiry 3: Promoting Physical Development Across the Seasons in Alberta

 

Winter

 

Children need to have opportunities to play outdoors throughout the year. The task of planning outdoor activities and moving outside to play during winter seems large for some child care providers. Playing outdoors in the winter requires many layers (mittens, scarves, boots, snowsuits, sweaters), and often the children have to go to the washroom as soon as they’re dressed up in all those layers!

 

Your own comfort level in the outdoors may also be a barrier to promoting outdoor activities. If you don’t enjoy or normally participate in outdoor activities, you may not have positive attitudes towards the outdoors to share with kids. Instead, you might communicate your own thoughts that you will all be cold and miserable outside.

 

The key to enjoyable outdoor activities is programming. Both children and adults lose track of time when they are having fun. Here are a few ideas for outdoor activities to do in the winter:

• Snow Painting: Fill squeeze bottles or spray bottles (e.g., shampoo or dish soap bottles) with warm, coloured water. Take children to an area of clean, fresh snow or to an area where snow has been ploughed up into a pile along a fence. A few drops of food colouring mixed with water are enough to paint lovely streaks and letters without staining clothes.
  
  
• Snow Block Building: A few weeks ahead, freeze water in containers of various shapes and sizes (e.g., milk cartons or yogurt containers). When you’ve collected a few dozen, remove the containers from the freezer, and then dip them into warm water. The blocks of ice will easily slide out of the containers. On a cold day, have the children use the ice blocks, alternating with frozen chunks of snow, to build walls, forts, houses, and so on.
  
  
• Snow Monster: This can be done as an alternative to snowmen or snowwomen in areas where the snow is too dry to pack easily. Simply shovel or push snow into a pile. Add twigs, rocks, paper-towel tubes, and other collage materials to give the monster a personality.
  
  
• Snow Box Play: Add pails, shovels, large cars, and trucks to a pile or box of snow.
  
  
• Winter Science: The properties of snow and ice can be fascinating to young children. Try the following activities, all of which work with either a little or a lot of snow:
  – Cover a small piece of cardboard with black velvet or felt. Place the covered cardboard in the freezer until it is very cold. During a snowfall, bring the covered cardboard outside and let the children catch flakes on it. The children can then look at the flakes through a magnifying glass.
  – Children can take a walk and look for tracks—boots, dogs, cats, ravens, rabbits, squirrels, and so on. Each child can make a special footprint, walk away, and then try and find the footprint again.
  – Experiments: Melting and freezing can take place both inside and outside. Watch and listen to ice melt as salt is poured onto it. Bring snow to the water tables inside and have mittens available so children can sculpt the snow as it becomes icy.
  

• Winter Picnic: Any food that can be eaten easily by children wearing mittens will work well for your winter picnic. The usual fare of hot dogs is more of a novelty in winter if you are able to build a fire. A favourite drink is warm, cinnamon-flavoured apple juice.

Many games for preschoolers can be adapted to the outdoors all year round. Ball games, running games, parachute games, and obstacle courses lend themselves to play even when heavy clothing is worn and temperatures are freezing.

 

© Joshua Hodge Photography/iStockphoto

 

Rain

 

Rainy days can also offer fun activities. When the rain is falling, engage the children in the following finger play:

 

The rain is falling all around (fingers make rain falling)

Splish, splash, splish, splash (wiggle fingers)

Making puddles on the ground

Splish, splash, splish, splash (wiggle fingers)

The earthworms crawl about (hands and arms slither around)

Wiggle, waggle, wiggle, waggle

And disappear when the sun comes out

Zip, zip, zip zip (point thumbs down alternating between the left and the right thumb)

 

After a rainfall, take the children for a walk and collect earthworms from the sidewalks. Ask the children why the earthworms have come onto the sidewalks. After you are finished, return the worms to the dirt.

 

When outside on a rainy day, children need appropriate clothing, such as raincoats, rubber boots, and long pants.

 

 

Course Project

 

 

 

Have you added items and strategies to your strategies box for both indoor and outdoor play and for various seasons?

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Learning Activity 3: Playing Through the Seasons

 

Focus

 

Children benefit when child care providers plan new and exciting activities that expand their knowledge and support development. Outdoor play is beneficial to children’s physical development and should be offered as a daily part of a child care program.

 

Directions

 

Step 1: Complete Part 1 and Part 2 of Learning Activity 3: Playing Through the Seasons.

 

Step 2: Review the Rubric for Learning Activity 3: Playing Through the Seasons. Assess the quality of your work and make any necessary adjustments.

 

 

Checking In

 

 

 

Save your completed learning activity and your self-assessment in the appropriate sub-folder of your course folder.

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education

Session 1: Physical Development

 

Session Summary

 

 

Review Session 1 to prepare for writing the quiz. As you review, note the sections that connect with the following points:

• Children develop at their own individual rates.
  
  
• Heredity, environment, climate, culture, illness and/or special needs, and safety are factors that affect physical development.
  
  
• Physical development involves two types of skills: fine motor skills and gross motor skills.
  
  
• Children need daily physical activity.
  
  
• It is important that caregivers provide a variety of games and activities that are both interesting and challenging to children.
  
  
• Games should not leave out children and should avoid opportunities for children to compete against one another.
  
  
• Healthy children have more opportunity to participate in activities—it is important for centres to decrease the spread of germs in child care centres to minimize illness.
  
  
• Healthy eating habits are important for young children’s physical development.
  
  
• Outdoor play should be an exciting part of winter in early childhood programs.

Session Quiz

 

 

Checking In

 

 

 

Contact your teacher to decide together when and where you will complete the Session 1 Quiz.

 

Course Completion Checklist

 

Have you been keeping your Course Completion Checklist up to date? Remember that the checklist is available in the Toolkit, though it should now be saved to your computer and be partially completed.

 

CCS3120 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education