Tutu’s Corner

Physical Development Is Essential To Learning

Column by Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool

It is a marvelous thing to watch children at play. In future talks, we will further discuss the importance of play. Now, we will discuss the connection between play and physical development, and learning. There are two types of physical development that we will discuss here: gross motor development and fine motor development.

Gross motor development deals with children’s ability to use their large muscles to move in ways that show control, balance and coordination, such as sitting, crawling, walking, and running.

Fine motor development is a children’s ability to use their small muscles to perform tasks such as writing, drawing, eating with a spoon, and brushing teeth.

At Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool, we give children practice in developing gross motor skills by letting them walk the balance beam, climb the jungle gym, throw and catch balls, stretch, run, and hop at circle times, etc. We give children practice in developing fine motor skills by letting them paint, scribble, string beads, do puzzles, and play with play dough, etc. We may also seek soft play bundles to encourage kids to develop and enhance their motor skills while enjoying their time to play.
Try this at home
• Shoot baskets using an empty garbage can and a soft ball
• Visit the nearest playground regularly
• Start a garden
• Do a workout routine to music together
• Dance together
• Provide toys that require hands such as Legos and puzzles
• Let your child dress him/her self as soon as possible
• Do simple carpentry such as with hammer and nails
• Provide drawing and writing tools
• Assign jobs to do around the house
• Cook together
• Play card games together
• Jump rope together
• Walk together
Remember: A physically fit child or adult is a mentally fit child or adult.