1. Gross Motor Skills Gross motor skills refer to activities that involve the use of the large muscles of the neck, trunk, arms, and legs.

2. Major parts of Gross Motor Balance – the ability to adjust the body symmetrically Body awareness – helps to improve posture and control Crossing of the mid-line – from one side of the body to the other Laterality – awareness of the left and right sides of the body Major muscle co-ordination- being able to coordiante the major muscles in the body Spatial orientation – awareness of how their body is positioned in space and in relation to other objects or people (Improving Gross Motor Skills in Children )

3. Gross Motor Skills Examples Basic body movements such as lifting the head, rolling, crawling, walking, running, leaping, jumping, hopping and galloping are considered to be gross motor activities.

4. Things to try to improve Gross Motor Play with a large ball. Encourage children to kick the ball using one foot and then the other. Then throw and catch it too. (You can let some of the air out of a beach ball to make it easier for children who are really struggling with learning to catch). Encourage your child to ride a bike. Use either a push bike or pedal bike with or without training wheels, according to your child’s ability. Act like animals: creep like a snake, waddle like a duck, hop like a rabbit etc. Play “Simon Says” with your child. (Improving Gross Motor Skills in Children)

5. Fine Motor Skills Fine motor skills involve more precise movements of the small muscles, especially those of the eyes, speech musculature, hands, fingers, feet and toes.

6. Fine Motor Skills Examples Movements such as blinking, focusing, sucking, gasping, releasing, pinching, and writing are considered to be fine motor activities.

7. Major parts to fine motor Cutting- being able to move their thumb and pointer/middle fingers in a cutting motion. Placing- being able to place certain items in certain orders. Tracing- tracing over different lines, letters, shapes, or pictures. Self care skills- zipping, tying, buttoning, dressing, bathing, etc. Writing- being able to form words with letters and using a writing utensil to write the words.

8. Things to try to enhance fine motor Play-dough- handling play-dough also develops some important skills. Squeezing and stretching it helps strengthen finger muscles, and touching it is a valuable sensory experience. Finger Painting - Using finger paint can strengthen childrens hand- eye coordination and manual dexterity Sponge Squeezing- Set up two separate bowls, one filled with water and the other empty. Give your child a sponge and have her soak it in one bowl. Then have her squeeze the water out of the sponge into the other bowl. She can transfer water back and forth between bowls, too. This simple game can strengthen hands and forearms. It’s especially fun if you throw in some bubbles or some food dye. Coloring with small/broken crayons- Difficulties with fine motor skills can make it tough to grip a pencil. Coloring with small, broken crayons encourages your child to hold the crayon correctly— between her thumb and forefinger. Make macaroni necklaces- Stringing together necklaces is a great way for your child to be creative while working on her hand-eye coordination and developing her ability to manipulate objects (Patino, E. (2013, December 3).

9. What is the purpose of Physical Therapy Intervention? Interventions shift from developmental goals to the development of functional skills that will enable the child to participate actively at home, school, and in the community. Work on functional motor goals should begin as early as possible Functional goal examples include: picking up cheerios, turning a door knob, and holding a crayon. (Cook, R., Klein, M., & Chen, D. (2012).

10. The Therapist When planning for an individual child the therapist should look carefully at the child’s functional level, considering activities for daily living, interactions within home and community environments, skills needed to support other developmental areas, and types of assistive devices. After reviewing and assessing the child the therapist has a better idea of the motor goals to be initiated for the child. The therapist must also help the teachers and parents understand the objectives and techniques for the development of functional motor skills. In consultation with the physicians the physical therapist or occupational therapist will provide the expertise for implementing gross and fine motor activities and offer advice on positioning and use of therapeutic devices. (Cook, R., Klein, M., & Chen, D. (2012).

11. References: Improving Gross Motor Skills in Children - homeschool your boys. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2015, from http://www.homeschool-your-boys.com/improving-gross- motor-skills-children.html Patino, E. (2013, December 3). 8 Fun Ways to Build Fine Motor Skills. Retrieved December 13, 2015, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention- issues/child-learning-disabilities/movement-coordination- issues/8-fun-ways-to-build-fine-motor-skills Cook, R., Klein, M., & Chen, D. (2012). Adapting early childhood curricula for children with special needs (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson.