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Health, Safety and Motor Skills Development



What is it?


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  • Developing healthy habits and safety awareness
  • Promoting the enjoyment of participating in a variety of physical activities
  • Developing control, coordination and balance in gross and fine motor tasks

 
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Why is it important?


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  • Influences mindset about what constitutes healthy living and motivates the children to stay active in their later years
  • Provides a natural context for children to develop understanding of various health and safety practices
  • Lays the foundation for developing more complex motor skills
  • Affects physical fitness, agility and coordination, which in turn influence children's health and mastery of self-help skills

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Photo Story 1


The Parachute Toss


What can you do with newspapers, tape and a towel? 

Make newspaper balls which your children can use to roll, toss, kick, throw and catch. The good thing about newspaper balls is that they do not bounce far when they fall to the ground.

The children can even use the towel as a “parachute” to toss the ball. This allows them to practise their gross motor skills in a fun and enjoyable way!
You would need… You would need…
Newspapers, masking tape, scissors and a towel
Here\'s how... Here's how...
Crush some newspaper into a ball.
Here\'s how... Here's how...
Use masking tape to hold the shape of the ball and to prevent it from falling apart.
Children can... Children can...
Roll
Children can... Children can...
Toss, throw and catch
Children can... Children can...
Kick
Use a towel to play Parachute Toss… Use a towel to play Parachute Toss…
Get the children to think about how they worked together: What did you and your friend do to toss the ball as high into the air as possible?
Use a towel to play Parachute Toss… Use a towel to play Parachute Toss…
Get the children to think about how they worked together: What did you do to keep the ball going without dropping it?

Photo Story 2


Strengthening Children's Fine Motor Skills


Fine motor skills involve coordination and control of the wrists, fingers and hands in carrying out a specific task with precision. In general, control of the muscles progresses outwards from the centre of the body to the more distant  body parts. Hence, it is recommended to build up their hand muscles first, followed by their finger muscles and then their control of tools. When children have well-developed fine motor skills, they will be more independent in carrying out daily activities, self-help tasks and will be able to write and draw with ease and confidence. 


Developing hand and finger muscles Developing hand and finger muscles

Give children opportunities to develop their hand muscles by carrying out tasks such as crushing and tearing paper.

Developing hand and finger muscles Developing hand and finger muscles

Kneading dough can provide opportunities for the children to practise using their hands and fingers to mould the dough into various shapes that they desire.

Practising hand-eye coordination Practising hand-eye coordination

Stacking building blocks helps children to develop their hand muscles and hand-eye coordination.

Practising hand-eye coordination Practising hand-eye coordination

Help children exercise higher precision in their hand-eye coordination by threading items such as beads.

Practising hand-eye coordination Practising hand-eye coordination

Buttoning activities help children to synchronise the use of both hands while practising hand-eye coordination.

Controlling tools using fine motor skills Controlling tools using fine motor skills

After gaining confidence using their hands and fingers, give children opportunities to use tools such as tweezers to transfer manipulatives from one container to another.

Controlling tools using fine motor skills Controlling tools using fine motor skills

Children can further develop their finger dexterity by using recycled screw-top bottles.

Controlling tools using fine motor skills Controlling tools using fine motor skills

Engage children in activities that require the use of scissors to build up their precision and control as they cut a variety of materials such as thick straws and paper plates.

Developing proper pencil grip Developing proper pencil grip

Provide opportunities for children to practise proper gripping as they use tools such as crayons, colour pencils or chalk.

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