Let's Move! The Importance of Gross Motor Skills

Parents of young children may know what gross motor skills are, because of the awareness of milestones children achieve as they grow. Other times, people may not be exactly sure what we mean when we mention the importance of gross motor/ large motor skills. I like to tell people that gross motor gets you to where you need to go and fine motor helps you do what you need to do, once you get there. For instance, if your child wanted to do a craft, they would walk to the table and sit down (gross motor) and then they would fold or cut or colour the paper (fine motor).

Gross motor skills are movements that involve using the large muscles of the body. The development of gross motor skills begins as soon as a child is born. As children mature, their gross motor abilities continue to develop and improve. Boys usually develop gross motor skills sooner than girls, with the exception of skills that involve balance and precise movements, like skipping and hopping.

Gross motor skills are important because of:  

Health:  Any sort of exercise promotes obvious benefits of exercise to the body and mind.

Confidence & Self Esteem: Gross motor skills allow children to feel comfortable and confident during activities like group sports and games. 

Ability to Assess Risk: Another important life skill, not only with physical well being but with taking risks in life with decision making. 

Energy Release: This helps in all domains of physical, social, and emotional well being. Energy release allows our children to focus on tasks, impacting their learning in all areas. 

Brain Development: The early years lay the foundation of brain pathways for lifelong motor skills and aid in learning, especially learning skills that require advanced thinking and mental dexterity.

We are very fortunate at BELA to work with the Occupational Therapists and Assistants at Sensational Kids. They not only provide assessments for our students but they also provide our staff with resources, support and professional development, and step in to work with our students when necessary.  You too, can benefit from their knowledge by taking part in BELA parent workshops and by following them on Facebook for relevant resources!

Nowadays a lot of our gross motor development has  taken a back seat, because of things like iPads, game consoles, tv, etc. Some children would much rather sit in front of some sort of electronic device, than get up and move or  go outside. In our role as teachers, mentors, and parents, it is important to discourage this and encourage at least one hour of outside play everyday. It doesn't have to be anything fancy! Outside play can be as simple as a walk or bike ride, a game of catch in the back yard, or a trip to the playground.

Inside play can also develop gross motor skills as well, you just have to use your imagination. For the Gross Motor presentation that Mrs. Blake and I facilitated, we provided parents with easy ideas and strategies to use at home that are fun for the whole family. Here are some examples that you can implement today:

Yoga is a great exercise to do at home. Its fun, relaxing, can involve the whole family, and is a great opportunity to work on self regulation.

Rolling a ball back and forth to each other is another good exercise that you can easily make into a fun game. It also encourages coordination and turn taking. This activity can be expanded to further develop these skills, to tossing and catching a ball, depending on the developmental level of your child.

Hide and Seek is a great game for all members of the family. Trying to find a tricky place to hide will definitely promote some good gross motor movement and it's fun!

“Simon Says” is another fun game that everyone loves. Not only does it promote gross motor movement, it’s a great listening and direction following game. You can make the movement requests as tough or as easy as you would like.

Core strengthening is essential for the progression of other developmental skills. The core is the centre of control for everything else the body does. It’s difficult to balance, perform coordinated movements on both sides of the body, sit up straight in a chair, hold a pencil, control scissors, or jump if you don’t have a strong core. We know that decreased core strength commonly contributes to other issues like W-sitting and delayed motor skill development. And we also find that more and more children are having difficulty with maintaining functional posture at home and in the classroom and with overall body strength.

Everyone  has core strength and muscles that they don’t even know are there. The trick is to teach everyone, especially children, to ENGAGE their core muscles.
Once they learn how to do that, many things improve like their posture and balance.

Here are some core strengthening exercises you can try at home:

Bridging:  lifting the hips as high as possible. You can alternate this a little by trying to pass a ball underneath then have it get ‘stuck’ so as the child lowers the bridge, they have to lift back up again.

Superman position: have the child lay on their stomach and using their core, life arms and legs up as if they were flying. This is pretty difficult for some so try getting them to hold it for a short time, release, and then do it again.

Plank position: make this a time contest. Set a goal and work towards it. Have the child raise up on hands and toes and try to be straight like a board; ensure back and legs are straight like a board also.

Knock the wall over: when children have to stand still,  wait their turn, or need a break, give this exercise a try. Have the child place both hands on the wall and try to achieve a good lunge and see if they can knock it over.

Preschool children reap psychological benefits as they expand and refine their gross motor skills. Children become more self-confident when they challenge old boundaries related to their gross motor abilities and meet with success. Gaining gross motor proficiencies permits preschool children to take part in a variety of active recreational activities, which can promote psychological well-being. Core strength is necessary to develop all sorts of skills from posture, balance, endurance, coordination, and stability. All of these together create strong gross motor skills and healthy children.

These exercises were fun to introduce to the parents who joined us for the workshop at BELA and we are happy to share them with you through the blog! Your children will love trying out these activities with you. Fun , exercise, increased gross motor skills and confidence! Sounds like a win to me!

* For more great info / resources regarding gross motor skills check out the following websites:

http://theinspiredtreehouse.com/

http://www.pinkoatmeal.com/

~Lacey Flynn 

Stay To Play....A New Program at BELA!

At BELA, we are inviting you to, Stay to Play, and learn together! “Children the world over, from those living with the most sophisticated families in big cities to those living in remote villages in developing countries, spend much time 'just playing.' Of course, only grown-ups would put the word 'just' in the previous sentence, implying that somehow play is an indulgence only the very young are entitled to and that nothing much is happening when children play.

Nothing could be further from reality, however,for a great deal happens when children are 'just playing.' They are developing skills and habits and attitudes that will stay with them throughout their lives. As they play they learn to cope with frustration, to continue to try to improve, to share with others, to give vocal expression to their thoughts and fantasies. They literally 'play for keeps.'” (Dr. Bettye M. Caldwell, Importance of Play In Early Childhood, 2016)

Research indicates that children learn best in an environment which allows them to explore, discover, and play…It is also closely tied to the development of cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical behaviors. (Jill Englebright Fox, Early Childhood News, 2016)

“If we are to save play, we must first understand its nature. Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child. It is refreshing and enlivening. It is a natural part of the make-up of every healthy child. The child’s love of learning is intimately linked with a zest for play. Whether children are working on new physical skills, social relations, or cognitive content, they approach life with a playful spirit…. But is it work or play? In childhood there is no distinction.

Adults are convinced that we need to “teach” young children. It is certainly true that we need to set an example in all kinds of activities. We also need to create appropriate spaces where children can play and learn, and we need to lend a helping hand- and at times even intervene when things are going wrong. But mostly we need to honor the innate capacity for learning that moves the limbs and fills the souls of every healthy young child”. The Nature of Play (Joan Almon, The Vital Role of Play in Early Childhood)

With this understanding, that play is vital to the healthy development and learning of children, we recognize, “Parents are the most important people in their children’s early lives. Children learn about the world and their place in it through their conversations, play activities, and routines with parents and families. Parents can also support children’s learning in out-of-home settings, such as childminding settings, crèches, playgroups, pre-schools, and primary schools. By working together parents and practitioners can enhance children’s learning and development.

Parenting involves giving children the care, education and attention they need to learn and develop. Parents provide children with their first learning experiences and they help ensure that children reach important developmental milestones such as sitting, walking, becoming toilet-trained, talking, cutting, doing up buttons, cycling, reading, and so on. As children go on to spend time in out-of-home settings parents continue to support their learning and development. This is more effective when parents complement children’s experiences in a particular setting. Likewise, learning is more meaningful when practitioners use information from parents about children’s interests, skills, abilities, and dispositions as a starting point for new experiences." (Building Partnerships Between Parents & Practitioners)

At BELA, we recognize and honour the important role that parents play in the early learning of their children. Kenneth Leithwood, well known Canadian educational researcher, and author, tells us we need to shift our focus from ‘how to get more parents into our schools, to how we can support them at home’. As we sought information regarding the importance of co-learning, capacity building, and efficacy for families, it became apparent that parents feel that learning through play is important for their children.
The Child Care Information Exchange (Oliver & Klugman) tell us “91% of parents believe play is an important contributor to their child’s development and well-being. Almost a quarter of them (21%) believe that their children enjoy less time to enjoy play than they did as a child.” However, “Nearly three fourths (72%) of parents believe early academic learning is important and over half strongly believe that academic success is essential for life success. These numbers suggest that parents will make choices- sometimes misguided- that they feel will promote school success.” Information such as this, indicates schools have an important role to play in supporting capacity building and the efficacy of parents to support their child’s learning, through an educational partnership between home and school.

At BELA, we are excited to offer our new program, “Stay to Play”, a partnership, designed to share collective knowledge and expertise; highlight individual family’s strengths and talents; and support families through the use of community strengths and assets; in order to support continuous learning by both families and school staff, that will in turn support continued high quality learning for children in our community.

We invite families in our community to bring children ages 2-5 and join us each week to Stay to Play!, where BELA staff and participants will share ideas, and model learning through play experiences, with the children and their family participants. We will be offering 2 sessions of this 10 week program. Stay To Play is Tuesday afternoons from 1:30-3:30 , is open to children ages 2-5 and is offered free of charge via BELA and our community partners BCIS & the Medicine Hat & District Child Care Association. All the information including eligibility and registration for the program is on our website. Just follow the link to learn more and get registered: Stay To Play
~Jody Rutherford
Director of Education & Programming

Calm, Alert & Ready to Learn – How to help our children self-regulate

Calm, Alert & Ready to Learn – How to help our children self - regulate

Who hasn’t at some time or another been mortified when their child has a complete melt down in a public place?  Personally, I can recall a time when one of our daughters (who shall remain nameless) would tantrum every time I picked her up from the sitter and made a quick stop at the grocery store, or pharmacy, on my way home.  It was embarrassing, people would gather, and because I was a teacher, I felt like people wondered how I could control my students at school, when I couldn’t even control my own child! I should have known that most people weren't judging me, teacher or otherwise as almost every parent has been there but it's hard in the moment when you feel all eyes are on you!

It wasn’t until I calmed down and gave it some thought, that I realized, I was expecting her, (at her worst time of day, when she was tired, hungry and eager to get home to her sisters and her toys), to behave in a calm, rationale manner.  Not fair, Mommy!!!  As adults, it is our job to determine how to help our children succeed, and in this case, it meant re-organizing myself to go directly home; returning to the grocery store, or pharmacy later, once everyone was calm and fed, or leaving these tasks until I could arrange for someone else to stay with the children or pick up what was needed.

Little did I know at the time, what I have described is a child (and her Mommy) struggling with self-regulation!!!  So what is this self-regulation?  Why is it important for children (and their parents to learn)?

Self- regulation is the ability to:

•       attain, maintain, and change one’s level of energy to match  the demands of a situation or task

•        monitor, evaluate, and modify one’s emotions

•        sustain and shift one’s attention when necessary and ignore distractions

•       Understand both the meaning of a variety of social interactions & how to engage them in a sustained way

•       Understand, connect with, and care about what others are thinking and feeling -  to empathize and act accordingly

 During the past 15 years, Dr. Stuart Shanker and his colleagues from York University  have been tracking the increasing incidents of behavioral disorders (ODD, hyperactivity, ADHD, etc).  This worrying trend, as well as the dramatic increase in anxiety disorders in children and youth (ages K-age 24), and a tendency for these diagnosis to occur at younger and younger ages, regardless of income level of the family or gender of the child, have led scientists to conclude that behavioral management techniques, that rely heavily on punishment and reward are relatively ineffective in reducing children’s problematic behaviors.  Dr. Shanker believes in many cases these types of strategies actually exacerbate the problem. 

Recent advances in developmental neuroscience are dramatically altering attitudes toward the possibility of maximizing the educational potential of every child.  Scientists now understand the better a child can self-regulate, the better they can rise to the challenge of mastering ever more complex skills and concepts.

There are 5 Domains of Self- Regulation, which are connected and affect each other:

•       Physical/Biological: managing levels of energy and tension in the body

•       Emotional: understanding, expressing, and managing feelings

•       Thinking: processing information from the senses, paying attention, reasoning, planning

•       Social: communicating and adjusting behaviour to match what is needed in social situations

•       Pro-social individuals engage in behaviours that are positive and helpful, promoting social acceptance, friendship & empathy.  Pro-social functioning is bound up in all the other areas of the 5 domain model, and is a higher level of self-regulation.

 A child who is ‘out of sync’ in one of these areas, may struggle with learning and relationships.  As parents, and educators, it is our job to recognize these struggles and teach children the skills that will help them to cope and ‘head off’ those behaviours we all come to dread!

That being said, there is a difference between misbehaviour and stressed/overwhelmed behaviour and we need to recognize the difference and handle it differently.

 If you want to learn more about self-regulation and how you can best help your child, we are providing a presentation at BELA on January 27^th at 7:00-8:00 or on Wednesday, February 3, at 1:30-2:30.  Please call 501-0019 or email Jody at jody@brooksearlylearning.ca if you would like to attend.

~ Jody Rutherford

Director of Education & Programming

BELA

" Please Mom (Dad, Grandma, Grandpa) would you play with me?"

If we are lucky, we get to hear this request often, and should take it as a compliment!  Most children only ask people to play with them, who they think are fun to play with.  But parents, and grandparents, are often unsure what their role is when asked to play.  Are we there simply to keep them safe, as supervisor?  Do we act as a referee, to make sure everyone plays nicely?  Should we tell them what to do, and organize their play?  The answer to these questions is yes,  sometimes, all that & so much more!

Psychologists suggest that play is the ideal context for acquiring social skills & forming friendships.  Trawick-Smith, in the book, Interaction in the Classroom – How Do We Facilitate Play? describes three important types of play: make believe; group games; and outdoor motor play; all of which are important in the development of social skills and forming friendships.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (1986) summarizes the benefits of play, “Knowledge is not something given to children as if they were empty vessels to be filled.  Children acquire knowledge about the physical and social world in which they live through playful interaction with objects and people.  Children do not need to be forced to learn; they are motivated by their own desire to make sense of their world (p.20)”.  

Trawick-Smith tells us there are developmental benefits to play:

·      stress reduction & reduction of anxiety

·      ideal context for acquiring social skills and forming friendships

·      important contributions to cognitive development & intellectual growth

·      problem solving ability

·      language development

·      creativity

·      healthy personality development

·      early reading skills

 So how do we capitalize on this natural desire of early learners, to play, learn, and make sense of their world?  There are 4 important times to play with children:

·      when a child doesn’t play; by playing with or around a child who doesn’t

interact with materials or peers, an adult can offer gentle invitations to participate, increase social contact, promote friendships and enhance social skills

·      when children need support; Yawkey, Smilansky et al (1987, 1968) found

 that it is not enough to simply provide more opportunities and materials to engage in social pretend play, only when adults joined in the play, were gains achieved in play and language development

·      when a teachable moment arises; when opportunities arise as children

 are learning a new concept, or are thinking about a problem in a new way, an adult may intervene and take advantage of the moment by adding new information to an exploration, give hints to help solve a problem, or ask questions to guide thinking.

·      when a child invites you to play; an adult who joins in the play has the

opportunity to learn more about a child’s social competence, their anxieties, concerns, or interests.  It is during play that children show us what they know, and how they think.

So the answer to the question about how we can enhance and extend the play of our children, is to see ‘play’ as their ‘work’, and be present.  Be present, to watch and observe, to invite or join in, ask questions, make suggestions, share in their joy and celebrate their eagerness to grow and learn. 

Anita Wadley’s poem “Just Playing” provides a wonderful reminder of the importance of play!

‘When you ask me what I did today,

And I say, “I JUST Played”,

Please don’t misunderstand me.

For, you see, I’m learning as I play.

I’m learning to enjoy and be successful in work.

I’m preparing for tomorrow.

Today, I’m a child and my work is play’

In response to questions from parents at BELA , our staff  have devoted our Professional Learning time this year to learning more about effectively facilitating play.  April 20 @ 1:00- 2:30, Ms. Flynn and Mrs. Parenas will be offering a workshop for parents designed to provide information about facilitating play, and opportunities to practice different ways to facilitate play with your own child. Please join us!

- JR

Jody Rutherford

Director of Education & Programming