Gross Motor Physical Development

Gross motor skills use big muscle groups. If your child has lots of opportunity to be active and use their muscles they will continue to improve these skills. Now is often a time that children get the chance to try out different physical activities, find out what they like and are good at.

Encouraging your child to be active is really important. They might enjoy sports and activities with friends or family at the park or at out of school clubs. Physical activity can be something you do together too; you can be a role model for your child as well as enjoying time together.

Children can begin to really enjoy exercise habits that will help to keep them healthy throughout life. It can take a bit of time to find the thing your child really enjoys.

Take a looks at the links below for some ideas;

Active Norfolk

Being Active as a Family

Fine Motor Physical Development

Fine Motor Skills use the small muscles in the hands and wrists. These will be more developed now. There are lots of skills that might be easier for your child, like getting themselves dressed and tying shoelaces. They may be working on their writing skills too and enjoy making things. The skills your child has developed so far will continue to grow.

It is good to encourage activities where your child has to use their hands.

• Most children really enjoy making things and drawing. This can help improve writing skills, it will also help them build their attention span, and is a good way to relax.
• Learning to cook will give the chance to learn to chop, mix and serve food. This is an important life skill and they will be proud of themselves too.
• Learning a musical instrument can help develop fine motor skills. They might be able to go to a music group after school or they could have a go at teaching themselves from YouTube.

Problem Solving Skills

Problem solving skills describes your child learning to make more sense of the world and what is expected of them. Have boundaries at home that your child understands. They will be able to understand there are some rules at home and at school that they need to stick to. 

Your child can begin to learn how to organise themselves. They will need your help to start with.

• Get their things ready for school with them the night before.
• Get them in the habit of getting any school homework done on time.
• Help them follow instructions for games, activities or recipes when you cook together.

Personal & Social Development

Personal and social development means learning about who we are as a person. Your child will still rely on you to help them feel safe, secure and loved. They are having to get used to other people being in their world like friends and teachers. You still have a big influence on helping them feel confident and believe in themselves.

They will be learning about friendships. This can be hard and they will need your support to work out how to cope with the ups and downs childhood friends bring. Set aside time to check in with your child and see how they are feeling.

It can be hard for children when they first experience friends being unkind to them or worry that they don’t fit in. Helping your child feel good about them self and talking about their worries can give them the tools to cope.

• Continue to praise your child and show that you enjoy being with them. Encourage them to join in with sports and other activities they enjoy.
• Let them talk through friendship problems with you and try not to step in too soon. Help them think of things from other people’s points of view.
• If you do worry your child is being bullied talk with them about the importance of getting help together.
• Helping your child develop self confidence and self esteem is important – find out more about helping your child build resilience.