In child development and early years practice, we commonly divide the physical development of children into the larger whole-body movements, such as walking and climbing, and contrast these skills with their smaller movements, using fingers and delicate touch. Yet, when you watch babies and young children, it is clear this division is just for our convenience.
Different moves
We need to appreciate the different kinds of physical movements and skills, so we can notice what a baby or toddler can do and, just as important, when they are close to managing a skill. But in everyday exploration and play, enthusiastic under-threes combine their large and fine movements, along with their senses of vision, touch and hearing. For instance:
* Under-threes often use their abilities of large movement to get to a point of interest in the room and then employ fine skills to explore the play resources. Perhaps they see and recall the attractions of a low-level display with different textures or sound-making opportunities. Once they are within touching distance, young children make themselves comfortable, so they can feel the interesting materials. Or they work their way around the different knobs and levers that make intriguing sounds on a wall board.
* Toddlers use careful co-ordination of fingers, hands and vision to gather items to load into their wheeled trolley. Then they use large movements to trundle their vehicle around. Yet they still use careful judgements of physical movements and vision, as they work to get that trolley around a corner or through a narrow gap.
Crucial skills
The work of practical researchers, such as Sally Goddard Blythe, has shown that full body movements - sometimes called gross motor skills - are just as crucial as the finer skills. Practitioners and parents should definitely not force under-threes to work on particular kinds of fine skills, such as pencil and paper exercises, before the children are ready.
* Young children learn and practise many fine physical skills through exploratory play, for example when they concentrate on putting dolly pegs round the top of a tin or cardboard container.
* Equally important are large physical movements, which are crucial, as children learn to 'read' the messages of their body, and become confident in balance and in using their left and right sides in combination.
* Large-scale physical play activities provide a strong basis for developmentally-appropriate very early literacy. Toddlers and young children need chunky chalks and large wax crayons, with generous amounts of paper, card or a wall chalkboard. Their keen early mark-making can involve large movements, as in a really active session of foot printing. Or they could use large brushes or rollers to move painting materials around for wallpaper or actual wall murals - think modern art 'splatter and splodge'
effect!
* Toddlers and young children learn valuable co-ordination skills when they play with long ribbons and simple streamers, making patterns in the air with whirling right and left arm movements.
Under-threes need the space and time to practise their movements. As they enjoy repeating these movements, their confidence and physical awareness increase. They learn to plan their movements into deliberate sequences that can only develop when young children are allowed and encouraged to be physically active, both indoors and outside.
Other resources
* Jennie Lindon, Kevin Kelman and Alice Sharp, 'Run along', 4 April 2002, Nursery World.
* The Play@home programme in Ayrshire and Fife has booklets providing a wealth of physical games with babies and toddlers. Contact the programme co-ordinator, Irene Miller, on 01592 712812.
