Gross motor development
Toddlers engage in different physical movements, including crossing their midline, as part of a Simon Says game.
[Invite 3–5 toddlers to join you in playing Simon Says.]
Simon Says is a fun game to play. We move a part of our body that Simon asks us to move. We pay attention to Simon with our eyes and our ears.
I will be Simon in our game. Let’s try it one time! Simon says, touch our nose.
[Demonstrate the action. Pause for toddlers to respond. Repeat the request and action, if appropriate.]
Simon says, touch our toes.
[Again, demonstrate the action. Pause for toddlers to respond. Repeat the request and action, if appropriate.
Affirm toddlers’ responses. Example: “You are listening and watching. You are doing what Simon asks us to do!”]
We used our arm and our hand and fingers to touch our nose and then touch our toes.
Let’s say together the word “nose.” Now let’s say together “toes.”
[Lead toddlers in saying “nose” and “toes” as you point to each on your body.]
Are we ready for more?
Simon says, touch our ear. Simon says, use the same hand to touch our other ear.
[Demonstrate each of the action requests. Accentuate the use of your pointer finger for touching each of your ears. Repeat the request and action, if appropriate.]
Simon says, put one arm out straight.
[Demonstrate the action. Pause for toddlers to respond. Repeat the request and action, if appropriate.]
Simon says, bend our arm.
[Demonstrate moving your outstretched arm toward you, bending at the elbow. Pause for toddlers to respond. Repeat the request and action, if appropriate.]
We are making our arm bend. Our arm is not straight when it bends. Our arm bends at our elbow.
This is our elbow. Let’s all touch an elbow with our hand.
[Point to your elbow. Then lead toddlers in touching their elbow. It does not matter whether toddlers use their right or left hand to touch an elbow.]
We are using our hand on one arm to touch the elbow on our other arm.
[Point to your other arm.]
This is our other arm.
[Point to one of your elbows.]
What do we call this part of our body? (elbow)
Let’s do several more Simon Says actions. Remember, we use our eyes and our ears to pay attention to what Simon asks us to do.
Simon says, use one hand to touch a knee. Simon says, use the same hand to touch our other knee.
[Offer more Simon Says requests as toddler interest and time permit. Demonstrate each action and give toddlers sufficient time to respond. Repeat requests as needed. Below are some possibilities:
We played Simon Says together. Simon asked us to move parts of our body in different ways. We paid attention to Simon by listening and watching. We put our arm out straight. What else did Simon ask us to do with our arm? (bend it) Our elbow helps us bend our arm.
This activity integrates support for skills in motor movements, word knowledge, and paying attention (self-regulation). Watch toddlers’ responses to Simon Says requests carefully so you can pace the activity in ways that match toddlers’ actions and adapt the activity by offering fewer or more requests.
Three requests in the activity invite toddlers to cross the midline by moving a hand (finger) or an arm across the middle of their body. Crossing the midline involves the two hemispheres of the brain, as explained in the ELM Curriculum User Guide: Birth–36 Months, and is associated with future cognitive and motor skills.
It is not important at this age for children to learn left and right. It is fine to demonstrate moving your right arm while facing toddlers. Their movements will generally be a mirror of your actions, but it is okay if toddlers use an opposite side of their body.
Saying the names of body parts involved in the activity can strengthen toddlers’ language skills.
Extra support
Enrichment
Fine motor development, Gross motor development
A toddler crosses the midline with his/her arm while collecting small balls in a water table.
Be Prepared: Put 2–3 inches of warm water in a sensory table or tub. Fill the cup with ping-pong balls. Another type of small ball or floating item may be used instead of ping-pong balls.
Two toddlers with appropriate self-regulation skills could participate in the activity at the same time. Place the toddlers on opposite sides of the table and facilitate turn-taking in picking up a ball. Provide enough balls so each toddler’s cup is full at the start.
Invite a toddler to play with balls at the water table. Ask the toddler to stand in the middle of a side of the table. This position encourages the toddler to cross his/her midline during the activity. If the table is the shape of a rectangle, ask the toddler to stand in the middle of a longer side.
Give the cup of balls to the toddler and invite him/her to drop the balls into the water. Encourage the toddler to hold the cup high enough above the water so balls splash slightly when they hit the water and move to different parts of the water table. If the balls end up mostly in one part of the table that does not involve crossing the midline to pick up, use your hand to gently move the balls to different parts of the water.
Encourage a toddler to hold the cup in one hand and reach for and pick up the balls, one ball at a time, with his/her other hand. It does not matter whether the toddler uses a right or left hand to pick up balls. The toddler will reach across the midline while picking up some balls. Encourage the toddler to put each ball in his/her cup until the cup is full. Emphasize the word full. Point out that the cup is now empty. When the cup is full, invite the toddler to pour the balls back into the water and again pick up balls and put each in the cup held in his/her other hand. Emphasize that the cup is again empty after the balls are dropped into the water.
A toddler practices several different types of motor coordination in this activity. Use of small muscles in hand and fingers is central to picking up a ball. Both sides of the body are used in an organized manner at the same time when a toddler grasps a ball with one hand and transfers it to a cup held by the opposite hand (technically known as bilateral coordination).
Early experiences in fine motor coordination are related to later fine motor skills, such as using scissors, drawing, and writing. Gross motor coordination in the early years is associated with later large muscle use, such as climbing stairs and riding a tricycle. Of course, practice in coordinating use of both hands is offered daily in care routines, such as handwashing and dressing. The current activity offers a focused repetitiveness that also involves variations (location of balls) that support eye-hand coordination.
Encourage a toddler to take his/her time if there’s a tendency to rush or pick up more than one ball at a time.
If a toddler avoids moving his/her arm across the midline to pick up a ball (example: moving the position of his/her body so it is close to a ball), positively acknowledge the toddler’s action and also gently encourage the toddler to stand in the middle of a table side. Reluctance to move an arm across the midline may be useful information about a toddler’s motor development, including eye-hand coordination. Observe the toddler’s motor actions in other settings to secure a better understanding of the toddler’s motor development. See the section on Observing and Supporting Children’s Progress in Developing Foundation Skills in the ELM Curriculum User Guide: Birth–36 Months.
Look for opportunities to use the words empty and full in relation to the cup, as suggested in the activity description. At this age, some toddlers are beginning to develop an awareness of number concepts.
If a toddler seems to have difficulty with eye-hand coordination with this task, consider offering less challenging practice, such as dropping balls (one at a time) into a wide-mouth bottle.
Extra support
Enrichment
Gross motor development
Toddlers move their bodies, including crossing the midline, while acting out a pretend story.
Communication / Language
Be Prepared: Be familiar with the story so you can easily talk about the text while sharing pictures with toddlers who participate in the activity. Secure a large mat or rug that will serve as an imaginary boat in the second segment of the activity. Ensure the pretend boat can accommodate the number of toddlers you anticipate will participate.
Invite 3–5 toddlers to join you for a ride in a pretend boat. Share the book, Mr. Gumpy’s Outing, by pointing to and describing pictures in your own words. This segment of the activity is intended to be brief and to set the stage for motor activity in the second segment of the activity. Focus on the story sequence:
Lead the toddlers in acting out a simple version of the story. Ask toddlers if they would like to get into a pretend boat with you. Invite the toddlers to sit on the rug or area that serves as your pretend boat. Offer again a short version of the story you shared in the first segment of the activity.
Next, tell toddlers the boat is tipping over. Example: “Oh, we are rolling into the water! We are getting very wet!” Encourage toddlers to roll out of the boat. Stand and demonstrate a swimming motion by moving one arm and then the other. Encourage toddlers to make a swim-type motion with two arms. Repeat an action phrase, such as “Let’s swim, swim, swim.”
Give each toddler a pretend towel and repeat a phrase about getting dried off. Encourage toddlers to use one hand to “pat, pat, pat” a leg and arm. Encourage and demonstrate how to use one hand to pretend to dry our leg and arm that is on the opposite side of our body. Emphasize the word other. The drying action will foster crossing the midline.
Next, offer the toddlers a pretend drink (story characters drink tea) and help them get calm by engaging them in a discussion of the basic story sequence. Hearing a recap of their pretend play will help toddlers remember their actions. Encourage toddlers to describe what happened.
Throughout the activity, describe the toddlers’ actions, such as getting in and out of the boat. Announcing the movements helps toddlers understand action names.
Some toddlers may want to enact the story or a fun part of the story again or act out a version of their own. Sit close to facilitate the toddlers’ interactions. Provide some narration, but allow the toddlers to recreate the story themselves.
Toddlers generally enjoy games of pretend that incorporate body movements. Look for opportunities to describe and provide verbal guidance for the following motor actions:
Toddlers may enjoy pretending to be one of the animal friends in the story or one of the boys and girls. It is fine to adapt the story to fit toddlers’ ideas and interests. Example: If one or more toddlers want to be puppies, change your narration to include puppies, such as “Mr. Gumpy invited all the puppies into the boat.”
During child-initiated play periods you may see the toddlers involved in more boat play. Play themes are often repeated by toddlers.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: small boats or nonbreakable bowls, animal figures or jumbo counters, easel painting, shaving cream, foamy paint, small cloth or sponge, books, animal figures and people figures, books about boats (see Optional Reading list)
Small boats and animal figures, such as jumbo counters in warm water, create an opportunity for fine motor practice. Nonbreakable bowls can serve as boats for small animal figures. On another day, repeat the book sharing in the block area and encourage toddlers to use blocks and toy animals to represent the story.
Easel painting is a soothing activity for toddlers that fosters fine and gross motor movements, including crossing the midline. Generally toddlers paint up and down, and then begin horizontal and circular movements. On another day, consider spreading shaving cream or foamy paint on a low table for toddlers to touch and smooth over the table surface. Toddlers will also enjoy washing the table with a small cloth or sponge, which is another action that promotes crossing the midline.
Display books about boats on a low surface and encourage toddlers to describe what they see in book pictures.
Children in a mixed-age group will all enjoy hearing the story of Mr. Gumpy’s Outing (Option 3). Preschool-age children may enjoy play in a pretend boat and also playing with items that float and objects that sink in water.
Extend the Option 3 boat theme to an infant by sitting on the floor to hold an infant who can sit on his/her own. Face the infant and hold his/her torso as you sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Support his/her body as you tip the infant back gently and guide his/her body back into a regular sitting position.
A young toddler (12–24 months) also may enjoy the feeling of tipping back and moving forward. Sit on the floor facing the toddler and hold his/her hands as you move gently back and forth. Preschoolage children can sit face to face in a pretend rowboat. Encourage the children to hold hands and move their torsos gently back and forth.
© 2024 The Trustees of Purdue University | All Rights Reserved