Home Hot Topics Articles Directors' Choice Awards About Us / Contact Us Activities & Curriculum Activities for Outcome-Based Learning Arts & Crafts Music for Learning Recommended Reading Sharing Boards: What Do YOU Think? NEWSlink Current National News Conference Calendar Topics In Early Childhood Education Art and Creativity in Early Childhood Education Job Sharing Board State Licensing Requirements Stay Connected! Each month we'll send you an email filled with articles and ideas for your classroom. Subscribe Now Date: 12/4/2005 6:00:00 PM Author: mosquito - from Australia Subject: gross motor development Hi Paula - don't stress - at least she's moving! I work in a centre and there have been 2-3 children that haven't walked confidently till they were 15-16 months old at least! Crawling - She probably doesn't see the point in doing crawling because she just gets around on her butt! Walking - will she walk holding onto your fingers? can you buy a pushtoy that she can use to walk around holding on to? Just check to make sure it doesn't flip up or run away from her but is still easy for her to push. (You can buy a great bike that converts to a walker so she can sit and ride or walk around) Put some music on and hold her up by her fingers to encourage her to move.Play a game with her encouraging her to roll first and copy her butt-scooting around then encouraging her to kick and wriggle and slowly as time goes by move towards standing and stepping. Copy her actions and encourage her to copy yours. Most of all make it FUN! PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE for every little milestone so she will want to do it again and again! Funnily enough - don't dress her in long dresses or clothes that restrict leg movement. If she tries to move and finds she can't - although she'll keep trying it could be disheartening for her. Can you take her swimming? this could be a way of encouraging her gross motor muscles to develop and strengthen. Good luck and let us know how she is going! Name: Email: Subject

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