Gross motor skills are very important in the development of children during early childhood. This webpage consists of links to different sites pertaining to the gross motor development of young children. The sites chosen give information on different ideas and activities that children can participate in to increase their gross motor skills. Also included is information about a recent study that was conducted relating to gross motor development in young children.

    1.  Motor Development:  An understanding of motor development will enable you to pick activities that enhance current skills and foster the development of emerging skills. When looking at motor development, remember to look at both gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills involve large muscle movements. Fine motor skills involve the small muscle movements of hands and fingers in coordination with eyes. Between one and two years of age, fine motor skills fall into four areas: putting in, building up, putting together, and writing.

    2.  Gross Motor Activities:  Many of the Nursery Rhyme songs provide an excellent opportunity for children with motor delays to practice their gross motor skills. For example, the student practices jumping skills by jumping over a candle in Jack Be Nimble. In Wee Willie Winkie children can go upstairs and downstairs in their nightgown. The Jack and Jill rhyme lets children practice their rolling skills when Jack and Jill roll back down the hill. Yankee Doodle is a great song to teach the galloping gait as the children ride their wooden stick horses around the room.

    3.  Developing Motor Skills:  Preschoolers are constantly on the move. Here are 101 fun and easy ways to help them develop coordination, strength, and dexterity. The book includes tips for enhancing gross motor skills and fine motor skills, plus suggestions for selecting and using playground equipment.

    4.  Gusty Winds:  This site shows exercises in developing gross motor skills through the arts. Children need to move in big, grand gestures. It is fundamental to their well-being and their ability to absorb experiences. One can never over emphasize the importance of music and movement as well as PE and Art in a child's development. Some would even go so far as to say that these are the foundations of academic achievement. If you want your child to improve in numeracy and literacy, think first of providing extra attention to these areas.

    5.  Trained, generalized, and collateral behavior changes of preschool children receiving gross motor skills training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19, 283-288. Three preschool children participated in a behavioral training program to improve their gross motor skills. Ten target behaviors were measured in the training setting to assess direct effects of the program. Generalization probes for two gross motor behaviors, one fine motor skill, and two social behaviors were conducted in other settings. Results indicated that the training program improved the gross motor skills trained and that improvements sometimes generalized to other settings.

Created by Dana Parish for PSY 306.  Last updated on November 15, 1999.