Gross motor development
A young infant experiences gentle, guided movements of arms and legs.
None
Place a non-mobile infant on his/her back and sit on the floor facing the infant. Talk to the infant and use his/her name. Make eye contact, offer big smiles, and help the infant become comfortable. Hold the infant’s feet in your hands and describe his/her feet or shoes. Slightly wiggle the infant’s feet but do not tickle.
Tell the infant you are going to move his/her feet, legs, and arms. Do the following to help the infant strengthen awareness of his/her body. All movements are to be done gently and within a range that is completely comfortable to the infant.
This activity provides the types of movements that eventually combine into a crawling motion. Movements that occur on one side of the body (lateral movements) and movements that involve opposite sides of the body (opposition) are necessary for the body and brain to coordinate crawling actions. Some infants will enjoy the movements the first time they are introduced, whereas others may prefer a more gradual introduction of the movements, such as offering the leg movements in one session and arm movements in a later session.
Extra support
Enrichment
Gross motor development
An infant scoots or crawls to a set of toys and grasps one of the toys.
Be Prepared: This activity is for an infant who is beginning to scoot or crawl. Place a familiar and desirable toy, such as a soft doll or animal, in the toy truck for the infant to grasp.
[Sit on the floor next to the infant. Place the combined toys in a position the infant can easily reach by scooting or crawling. Point to and describe the toys you have arranged. Example: “There is our monkey in the little truck!]
[Use hand gestures and words to encourage the infant to move toward the play materials. Example: “Do you want to get the monkey?”
If the infant seems hesitant to move, place the toys closer to the infant or crawl toward the toys while urging the infant to follow.
Describe the infant’s efforts to move along the floor. Example: “Dylan, you are scooting on your tummy. You are going to get the monkey!”
Describe the infant’s actions with the toys. Example: “Dylan, you pulled the monkey out of the bus.”
Watch for a nonverbal signal that the infant is ready to stop the activity or wants to move to another area. Say repeatedly “all done,” or something similar, to indicate the play with the truck and toy is over. The infant may want to come closer to you for contact, such as a brief hug.]
[Briefly describe the infant’s actions and interest in the toys. “Dylan, you had fun crawling over to the little truck. You took our monkey out of the bus. You gave the monkey a hug!”]
Infants generally develop their own way of crawling. Some infants may push themselves along the floor with their toes, whereas other infants may balance their weight on hands and knees. Infants who can crawl generally spend half their awake time involved in gross motor movements, and are likely to want to crawl to a different location soon after reaching the toys you arranged.
Infants are naturally curious and motivated to explore and touch. Play materials arranged in a novel way may be especially interesting to an infant. Choose play materials based on an infant’s interests and, in a follow-up offer of this activity, consider adding more materials or partially hiding some materials, as suggested in the Enrichment tip.
Remember that when you comment on the infant’s accomplishment in reaching the toys, it is far more helpful to describe what the infant did than to simply say “good job.”
Extra support
Enrichment
Gross motor development
Older infants crawl while pretending to be an animal featured in a book.
Invite mobile infants to join you in looking at a book. Share the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by showing and describing pictures of animals that you anticipate will be of interest to the infants. Emphasize how the animals move. It is not necessary to read the book text or show all pages.
Invite infants to join you in pretending we are an animal shown in the book. Select a pictured four-legged animal that will be of interest to the infants, such as a baby lion or a baby bear. Encourage crawling around the room on all fours and pretending to be the animal. Use a simple, friendly make-believe invitation. Example: “Come on, baby bears! Let’s move around!”
Encourage the infants’ movements by enthusiastically describing how they are moving like the designated animal. After a few minutes of crawling, invite the infants to a rug or mat to look at pictures of animals. Example: “Please come with me, baby bears. Let’s look at a book.” Show and describe the picture of the animal the infants pretended to be and other animals of interest.
Developing motor control for crawling requires tremendous effort that can be supported in a fun way in this activity. Infants will differ in their crawling skills. Crawling becomes automatic when crawling is well developed. Infants who are learning to walk are likely be interested in this activity because they often revert to crawling to get from one place to another. Developmentally, the pretend element of the activity may be challenging for many infants to embrace. Pretending to be an animal is intended to add fun to the activity, and not serve as a focused experience in imagining to be something else.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: play materials, balls, non-breakable pitcher
Familiar and novel materials support infants’ explorations and locomotion. Consider materials used in prior ELM activity plans, such as a scarf in an O-ball®. Rotate play materials to create interest in crawling and exploring. Arrange familiar toys in novel ways for infants to discover. Example: put balls into a non-breakable pitcher. Place several toys on low surfaces where mobile infants can begin to practice pulling up to stand. Vary the play materials for infants who participate in tummy time each day.
Materials Needed: age-appropriate play materials, large sheets of paper, crayons, foam pool noodle
In addition to offering the activity options for infants, place play materials at different levels for toddlers and preschool-age children to find and explore. Attach paper to surfaces at different heights for coloring. Consider moving a sensory tub to the floor. Play an under-and-over game by placing a foam pool noodle (swim toy) at different heights, encouraging participation by asking “Can you go under the noodle?” and “Can you go over the noodle?”
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