Preschool Enrichment: Fine and Gross Motor Development

Do you have a very active preschool boy or girl that would rather dance, play, and sing than draw and color on paper? So do I! Are you looking for ways to enrich yourpreschooler'severyday experiences. So am I, and I hope to share some of my enrichment ideas with you!
This guide is the second part in a two-part series on Preschool Enrichment. Please see the first part Preschool Enrichment for Active Boys and Girlsfor additional and background information.
The best thing about some of these activities is that they can be performed with simple products that can be found at home or on okay!

OVERVIEW
This guidewill focus on body activity in young children for the sake of developing fineand gross motor skills.
Some preschoolers have a need to move their body almost constantly and there are developmental reasons for this. At this age, they are still developinggross (or large muscle)motor skills and are also developing fine (or small muscle) motor skills. They love to hop and run and wiggle (gross motor). They also love to smoosh things with their hands and cut paper (fine motor) and manipulate objects (laces, dolls, puzzles, etc.).

GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES
The following activities are aimed at the development of large muscle motor skills. Some activities are best suited for the outdoors, but I have included some indoor activities as well. These activities are also great for intellectual stimulation. Remember, when your body is active...your mind is active, too.
Outdoor Activities
Any activity that allows a wide range of motion for a child is helpful in developing gross motor skills. The outdoors (with its many healthful benefits of fresh air and sunshine) is the most desirable place for gross motor play. The following activities are just a tiny sampling of the gross motor benefits that the outdoors has to offer:

Laundry Day Maze
Do you have a clothes line or a series of trees in your yard? If so, hang up some sheets to allow your youngster to play within the flowing "walls". The photo aboveis of a maze exhibit at a local garden. My son and friend played there for almost an hourrunning here and there and playing hide-and-seek and tag.
Playground Free Play
When Imention "Free Play" in this guide, I am referring to the child's opportunity to be active any way that the child desires (within limits) and outside of a structured activity like sports. Modern playgrounds with climbing structures and swingsare probably the most effective "toys" formotor development. A large playground with a diverse set of equipmentfocusing on diversemusclegroups is most desirable. However, I enjoy taking my child to several different playgrounds with different activities each week. We both enjoy the change in scenery!!!!
Our favorite park offerssome verydiverse activities that involve the brain, arm muscles and leg muscles:

Rope net bridge (only about 4-inches off of the ground)
Bridge with movable foot holds requiringarm, leg, foot, and hand coordination. (It sounds tough, but is a favorite for preschoolers!)
Climbable plastic dinosaur statues.
Walking platforms
Stairs
Climbing tubes
Ladders
Large area forrunning
You may find that your child will alwaysgravitate toward a particular play structure. It's great to encourage your child to try new activities, butdo not force them if you feel they are not getting a well rounded play session. Therewill be other opportunitiesfor development!
Walking, Running, Biking
Lucky for us, our town and surrounding area is chock full of walking and biking trails and biological parks. Besides the opportunity for good, old-fashioned cardio-pulmonary exercise there is also the potential here for gross motor development. My son loves the outdoors and especially loves the chance to explore the "forest".
Besides motor development, there is a lot that can be learned on a nature walk. Preschool encounters with flora and fauna are great opportunities for biologyand spiritual lessons. Bring along a book such as"The Very Hungry Catapiller" or "Read With Me Bible"(with a good Creation Story) to enhance your discussions or your rest time.
More to gee!
Indoor Activities
Sometimes outdoor play is impossible or undesirable. If that is the case, try some of the activities below for safe, indoor gross motor exercise.
Simon Says
Activities (such as Simon Says) that encourage children to performa variety of movements is very stimulatingand can be a great confidencebuilder if handled correctly.Allow your child to both follow and lead the play and by all means, do not OVER challenge them. If they are confronted with a movement that is impossible for them to conquer, they may quickly abandon the activity.
ActionBooks
My son's favorite Alphabet Book is Grover's Own Alphabetwhich is part of the Big Bird's Favorite Board Books series and is also in Little Golden Book format. This book shows the fuzzy and blue Grover making the alphabet with his body and some props. Although some of these alphabet letters require a contortionist to perform, this book has encouraged my son to make letters with his body in a similar way that theVillage People's song "YMCA" encourages us to model the letters "YMCA" with our arms.As we read the book, he will simply pick and choose the letters he wishes to "perform". It's great fun for the whole family!
Videos
On another Sesame Street note, Grover has an excessive video called "Happy Healthy Monsters". My son LOVES it and asks to view it OFTEN. The video focus's on three healthful areas: Exercise, Nutrition, and Relaxation. Although the exercise portions are cardio-based (mostly jumping), the video encourages kids to move with the characters. Hey, it's good for Mommy, too!
Another activity that we have started is using large exercise balls (or balance balls) while viewing an exercise ball video. My son loves the variation of exercising while on a ball or he can just play with it while I continue my exercise. This also promotes good listening skills while he has tofollow the instructor's lead.
Dance To The Music
My son LOVES hispanic dance music. Whenever I get out a CD of "Sing and Play Ole" (our newest Vacation Bible School CD) he dances up a tornado. The activity of dancing to music can be usedfor exercise, entertainment,listening, and learning (if you have somegroovy educational songs).
Another CD that we really like to move to is Veggie Tales Campfire Songs. The song "GoingOn A Bear Hunt" is great for listening exercises and role playing.
Bowling For Numbers
Sportsgames (such as bowling) can be used for motor development and countingexercises once play has begun. Start with all of thebowling pins in proper formation and then count the luckysurvivorsafter each ball isrolled. As your child begees familiar with this process, you can start adding phrases such as "6 minus 4 = 2".
Get Out To a "Different Indoors"
Many of us live in areas that are full ofmuseums, libraries and other places chock-full of enriching activities and experiences for our preschoolers. When I'm feeling down or in a rut with the at-home grind, I often try to getout of the house withmy son and enjoy something indoors that our housedoesn't offer.
My son loves hand-on adventures at the local children's museums. There are many things to experience and explore like digging up your own Egyptian artifacts and pretending they are dinosaur bones!

Don't forget to get the little tykes with others their age at the mall play areaor at a friend's house. Kids need the chance to socialize andlearn people skills.
FINE MOTOR SKILL ACTIVITIES
The following activities are aimed at the development ofsmall muscle motor skills in the hands.Most activities are equally suited for the indoors or outdoors. Use your best judgement with messy materials (such as finger paints and sand)whether or not they are best used outdoors or indoors.These activities are also great for intellectual stimulation and can often be used in conjunction with other academic lessons such as: art, language, math, logic, etc.
Puzzles
gepleting puzzles with small or large pieces are a great way for children to practice small hand movements and dexterity in the fingers. Many different types of puzzles are available with many different regemended age ranges. I've found, however, that sometimes themanufacturer's regemended ages are muchyounger than practical. Give your child several different types of puzzles including:


Shape Puzzles