Hobbies And Interests
Gross Motor
Gross motor skills are large body movements that use the body's large muscles. Examples of the large muscles which are used are the legs, arms, feet and torso. Gross motor activities help develop coordination and balance. Usually gross motor skills develop before fine motor skills; eye control, rolling over, sitting up, crawling and walking are all considered gross motor skills. Gross motor activities help children with their body awareness, improve their posture and engage in physical exercise.
Gross Motor Toys and Activities
Playing on playground equipment is an example of gross motor play. On playground equipment, children will climb steps and ropes, crawl through tunnels and slide down the slide. Running, especially participating in races, is always fun for children. Playing sports such as soccer and baseball gets the large muscles moving, too. Hopping on a hopscotch board, ball play, hula hooping, bike riding, follow the leader and moving like animals are other ways to develop gross motor skills.
Fine Motor
Fine motor skills are small body movements that use the body's small muscles. The small muscles being used are the fingers, toes, lips, tongue and wrists. Practicing fine motor activities help children learn understanding and patience. They also aid in developing pre-writing skills. Most fine motor activities require children to practice using both hands at once. Transferring objects from one hand to another, pinching objects, eating and drinking, turning the pages of a book and turning knobs are all examples of activities using fine motor skills.
Fine Motor Toys and Activities
Drawing and painting are great fine motor activities. Start with thick crayons, markers and brushes and work toward using thin ones. The thinner tools will demand more control over your children's hands. When cutting with scissors, start with safety scissors because they do not have metal in them and are only strong enough to cut through paper. Shape play dough with hands, cookie cutters and rollers. Build with blocks, again working from bigger ones to smaller ones. Putting puzzles together, typing on the computer, writing, tracing and beading bracelets and necklaces are also valuable activities.
Outdoors and Indoors
Many people think that gross motor activities are done outside and fine motor activities are done inside. Actually, it is beneficial that fine and gross motor activities be done indoors and outdoors. For gross motor fun indoors, set up an obstacle course. Walk on a balance beam. Dance and play Simon Says. For outdoor fine motor fun, collect items on a nature walk. Bring paintbrushes and cups of water outside to paint on the sidewalk. Draw with sidewalk chalk and blow bubbles.