Gross Motor

Row, row, row your boat... A good core workout!

Preschool is all about working on skills through play.  What from the outside looks like kids just playing, is actually much more.  For example, some of the skills from the state standards that the students in the "boat" above are unknowingly working on are:

1. Demonstrates balancing skills (ex: getting in and out of the "boat")

2. Demonstrates gross motor manipulative skills (ex: rocking back and forth using core strength)

3. Manages feelings (ex: waiting for turns, rocking at the speed of others...)

4. Follows limits and expectations (ex: rocking safely and under control)

5. Responds to emotional cues (ex: slow down or stop when they notice others getting scared)

6. Interacts with peers (ex: talking and signing with each others while rocking) 

7. Makes friends (ex: shared experiences create friendships)

8. Balances needs and rights of self and others (ex: taking turns with the other students who want to get on the boat)

9. Comprehends language (ex: sing, talk, and listen to and with friends while rocking)

10. Follows directions (ex: "Please keep your bottoms on the seat when you rock the boat.")

11. Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary (ex: "You can have a turn after we sign the song one more time.")

12. Uses conventional grammar (ex: "Don't put your feet on the ground because it is water.")

13. Engages in conversations (ex: negotiate with each other where each person will sit)

14. Persists (ex: continue to work on getting in and out of the unstable boat even when it is difficult)

15. Solves problems (ex: deal with the problem of more kids wanting to get in the boat than can fit)

Each activity we do and toy that is in the classroom has been specifically thought through and planned so that the students have oportunities to work on different skills throughout the day.

Check out some of the Gross Motor activities we've been doing.

Biking around our path is a favorite activity for many of the kids.  Biking helps with leg strength, coordination, focus (to stay on the path), and balance. The kids also have to learn to take turns, wait for a teacher in some cases, follow directions and so much more.

Here the students are working together as a team to move a large branch (strength, coordination, visual planning, communications...)

Here we're "going on a bear hunt". They're using their imagination (developing mobility of thought and more elaborate language) and developing gross motor skills by walking across unevan terrain and stepping over logs and rocks. 

Jumping is yet another skill that the preschoolers work on without even knowing that they are improving their gross motor skills.

Climbing, sliding and swinging are part of the fun too!

Preschoolers vary grately in their ability to balance.  We work on balance in all sorts of different situations.

 

When we're in the outdoor classroom, the students find all sorts of natural ways to move, carry, lift, push, pull, and motor plan. 

Climbing over logs, up dirt mounds, and over rocks helps the kids build their muscles and learn to negotiate different terrain.

There are a few great trees at Southworth Park that the preschoolers can climb but never get too far off the ground.  They are always so proud of themselves when they can figure out how to hoist themselves up and off the ground.

The kids love throwing rocks, sticks, and leaves into the river. Learning to throw big and small objects both underhand and overhand and with good aim is no small feat for preschoolers.

This toy has been nicknamed "the mower" because it moves similarly to a zero-turn mower. It's a tricky toy where the students need to use their core muscles and a lot of coordination to move the mower by rotating the wheels by hand.

Announcements and reminders:

1. We will be taking a field trip to the Newmont Farm on Friday, October 21st.  More information will be going home soon.

2. No school on October 10 - Indigenous People's Day

3. No Preschool on October 13 and 14. The preschool staff will be going to the VTAECY (preschool) conference in Burlington on both days.