I can do it!

Two weeks ago we had gross motor time in the Community Room and every time Lily stood up to balance herself, she asked a teacher for help...Today she did it her- self. She was so pleased... Go Lily!

Look what I can do!

Gross Motor Development!

Most children are "motor driven." They develop or learn new skills and practice those over and over again. Picture a child who has just learned to pump on the swing, or one who learned to jump down from a low height; he wants to do more and more. Children build on their motor skills by taking any and every opportunity to use new skills. Motor skills can be enhanced with experience and opportunities.

Fortunately the weather has been so nice this summer that we have spent most of our time outside on the playground exploring the play areas (swings, jungle gym, monkey bars, the horses, the fire pole etc...); and the children have had the opportunity to experience a high level of motor activity. Some children that were not risk takers at the beginning of the summer have become risk takers. For example some children are now able to: climb up the slide, ride freestyle on the horses, pump on the swings, climb down the fire pole, climb across the monkey bars, jump down from a low height and climb freely on the jungle gym with and/or without support! Children learn by doing, and eventually the responses become automatic. Look and see for yourself!

Motor Milestones!

"Motor development is the foundation for all other development because movement is essential to the development of children's body image and their ability to respond to their surroundings. Through movement at all levels (rolling, crawling, and ,walking), children learn about themselves, and the many of the concepts which are important for higher-level learning. By moving their bodies around obstacles in their path, young children learn about spacial concepts such as up, down, in, out, on, off, over, and under. They learn by doing, and eventually the responses become automatic. Children's ability to move in their environment also has an impact on their social development. In all stages of childhood, they interact with peers on a motor level. Independence requires the ability to move and allows youngsters to make choices, to separate from parent and return, as well as experience a broader range of activities and learning experiences."

"Is It a Big Problem or a Little Problem?"
Amy Egan, M.A., Amy Freedman, M.A., CCC-SLP,Judi Greenberg, M.S., OTR/L, and Sharon Anderson, OTR/L

As I keep in mind that this automatic progression of milestones, most of which occurs in the first year of life, provides the foundation for all future motor milestones; it is very exciting for me to see the children's progression of gross motor milestones. Lately is seems as though everyday another child is experiencing and mastering a new motor skill. For example, the ability and freedom to move across the monkey bars independently, to be able to slide down the pole, to be able to negotiate playground equipment , and to master the ability to pump on the swings, is just a joy to behold as you child's teacher!

Last week on the playground...

Ruby-"Lauri come watch me go down the pole all by myself!"

Hadley- Hadley went all the way across the monkey bars,one rung at a time independently! She was just beaming with pride!

Sam R- He mastered sliding down the pole!

Oliver- For the first time was able to climb up and down(negotiate)the playground equipment!

Noah-Each and everyday he proudly shouted from the swing,"I can pump all by myself!"

Playground News!

The weather this week was great! We all had the opportunity to spend a lot of time outside. Recently, I noticed the children are expanding their horizons as they have been more exploratory in their choices of gross motor activities.

Today Teddy Post decided to climb down the jungle gym backwards. One rung at a time he slowly felt for each rung with each foot, until he reached the bottom; toe first then the heal. Aden had fun riding the bikes and hanging on the monkey bars with Issac. Oliver has enjoyed practicing his pumping skills in the swing. Lexi joined us for a game of basketball. Playing outside in the Spring sure is a lot of fun!

Using Self-Help Skills!

On Friday afternoons we have about about eight children in the All Star Lunch Bunch program. Most days we have about fourteen children and as you can well imagine, getting dressed to go outside with our winter gear, takes a bit time and patience. At times the children get frustrated when they can't find their hat or a mitten and often snow pants are put on backwards. On Friday, with a few less children I noticed how independent the children have become with their self-help skills. Most of them need help zippering but otherwise they have become quite independent! I encourage parents to let your children show off their self-skills at home! It's amazing what they can do!

Applesauce Anyone?

Jacob, Dylan, Max, Sadie, Eli, and Rylan all help out making the applesauce for the Classroom. We carefully placed the apple in the apple peeler, then friends had to cut it using a plastic knife. Rylan wanted to use both hands to make sure to cut right thru to the bottom, while Sadie and Max used their index finger and hand to cut through. The applesauce was delicious though, it didn't look so great. You may want to ask friends what ingredients we needed to make it. What happened to the apples after they were cooked.? Did they look the same?

I can do it!!!

Look at the concentration on the faces of these Unicorn friends as the master the skill of pouring their own water. They feel competent and capable as they learned these self help skills during snack time. Yes, we sometimes get spills. "That is ok", we just clean it up and continue eating. We would encourage you to provide your children with these opportunities at home as well.

Good bye to Sukkot

We welcomed our new week- "Shavua Tov" to all of our friends. We said good bye to Shabbat and good bye to our Sukkah we so diligently worked on. Just as we worked on building our sukkah, we worked cooperatively to take it down. One friend said, "We are doing a Mitzvah, we're cleaning!" They have really embraced all aspects of helping each other, from passing juice, pouring water for each other, and working cooperatively to clean up. Making decisions who holds the dust pan, who holds the brush, taking turns. All part of learning to be a good friend to each other.