Nature play, exploring outside, and engaging in outdoor adventures are activities that provide endless benefits for child development. Connecting with nature has an enormous positive impact on a child’s growth, as does disconnecting from technology. Excessive screen time and video games remove the opportunity for children to bond with the natural world around them. Going outside to chase butterflies, jump in puddles, and dig in the mud will grow happy, healthy, and curious children.
Let’s look into the compelling advantages of nature play and how it inspires blossoming child development.
The more risks you will allow your children to take, the better they learn to take care of themselves. -Roald Dahl
Physical Development
Nature Play Promotes Large and Small Muscle Strength
Through play, children naturally develop gross motor and fine motor skills. Play also improves endurance, balance, coordination, strength, and agility. Children create games and challenge themselves. How fast can I run? How far can I throw a rock? How high can I climb the tree?
Running in the woods, jumping over natural obstacles, climbing a steep peak, lifting, and pulling logs -fun activities that create endless opportunities to enhance physical strength. Walking carefully on a fallen tree in the woods improves balance. Stepping over a spearing branch while staying safe and stable on one foot is a coordination and balance competence.
Similarly, playing and manipulating small nature items helps develop the small muscles of the hands as well as hand-eye coordination skills. Building and inventing nature designs with rocks, sand, seeds, sticks, leaves, and cones leads to hand skill development in a natural and enriched way.
The mud will wash off but the memories will last a lifetime.
Freedom
Nature Play Allows Children the Ability to Act without Constraint
Children feel powerful and independent when they are in a natural environment. They feel released from the confined space of the classroom. The natural world is free from rules, formal instruction, pressure, and expectations. Playing freely, children use their imaginations to interact with the natural environment. The nature play is unstructured, unbiased, and completely uninhibited. Kids are free to take healthy risks, explore the unknown, and learn about new exciting wonders.
Little ones value the uninterrupted experience with nature. In other words, they enjoy making mud puddles, throwing rocks in the lake, walking, and exploring the woods. Kids are content when playing in nature, free from formal expectations. Consequently, they become completely absorbed in their free play and do not want to end their interaction with the natural world.
We must teach our children to smell the earth, to taste the rain, to touch the wind, to see things grow, to hear the sunrise and nightfall – to care.
-John Cleal
Natural Sensory Experience
Nature Play Provides Ultimate Sensory Connection
Playing in nature engages all the senses. The natural environment is the ultimate place to stimulate learning and creative play. There is so much to touch, see, hear, taste, and smell.
Children explore by touching different textures like mud, sand, water, dirt, seeds, leaves, rocks, tree bark, grass, flowers, sticks, logs, and pinecones. Feeling raindrops, wind, and sun on your skin are sensory experiences that can only happen outside.
Kids get excited when they see animals or insects. They naturally appreciate seeing and chasing after flying butterflies, leaping frogs, running lizards, or swimming fish. Similarly, they observe moving clouds, see trees that are dancing to the wind, and capture beautiful natural colors all around, it creates a serene feeling.
Listening to the chirping birds, falling waterfall, whistling wind, and crashing waves nurture the sense of hearing. Tasting freshly picked berries, smelling flowers, and freshly grown herbs in your garden is a pure joy to a young child.
Altogether, outdoor sensory experiences nourish a child’s learning, play, appreciation, and love for nature.
Sensations have a powerful impact on a young child and provide meaning to the experiences, please click here if you would like to learn more.
Kids don’t need to be shown how to connect with nature. It’s ingrained in their DNA. The real key simply is to take them outside and let them do what comes naturally. – Scott D. Sampson
State of Zen
Nature Play Encourages Intuitive Child Engagement
Children are fascinated by nature. When children engage in playing in nature, they often enter a state of calm, happiness, and enjoyment. The coherence of the body and mind creates the ultimate inner peace. The focus of a child’s actions is guided by intuition rather than by conscious effort.
Above all, the child becomes lost in the beauty of their quest and creates unique thoughts and discoveries. Children feel free and confident to express their original ideas enriched by nature. Nature contributes to a happy and healthy development. The natural environment is soothing, relaxing, and healing.
The best education does not happen at a desk, but rather engaged in everyday living – hands on, exploring, in active relationship with life. – Vince Gowman
Cognitive Development
Nature Play Nurtures Thinking, Exploring and Figuring Things out
Nature inspires children to think, explore, and understand the world around them. As children observe, discover, and experiment with nature, they learn to problem-solve, communicate, and plan ideas. Children express thoughts and feelings as they generate new findings and connections.
Furthermore, they absorb the magnitudes of new concepts and new vocabulary by interacting with nature. They cultivate their sense of wonder, expand their interests, and creativity. Playing outside stimulates imagination and curiosity. The natural environment supports improved focus, attention, and concentration.
It’s a wondrous thing how the nature calms the child.
Social and Emotional Development
Nature Play Fosters Positive Relationships and Understanding of Feelings
Nature play with friends builds relationships, and fosters emotional well-being. Studies show that being in nature improves mood, reduces stress, and boosts health and confidence. When children interact with the natural environments, they learn how they feel, freely express themselves, cope with frustrations, and understand how to manage their emotions.
In addition, children spontaneously develop imaginative play skills and engage in creative teamwork. Unstructured time in nature supports social skills and cooperative interaction with friends. Children have endless opportunities to share ideas, negotiate, lead, and take turns. Young children learn about perspective-taking and conflict resolution. They also develop caring peer connections, as they experience the personalities and temperaments of others.
Slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
Natural World Value and Appreciation
Nature Play Inspires Beauty and Ethical Awareness
Teaching children about protecting and appreciating the beautiful world around us is crucial in early childhood. A positive environmental education will foster a lifelong sense of caring and gratitude for the conservation of natural beauty and living creatures. Children need abundant positive experiences with nature to develop a healthy relationship with the natural environment.
Most people spend at least 95% of their time indoors (Wilson, 2008). As a result, young children create unhealthy worries and fears and perceive nature unfavorably. Although there are elements of the natural world, we have reason to fear nature is not an absolute threat to our safety. It is normal to see a spider or a squirrel, an insect, or a deer. Children need opportunities to interact with nature in order to shape positive environmental beliefs, understanding, and an appreciation for nature. Raising ecologically sensitive children will result in happy and healthy childhood development.
Unfortunately, when children are deprived of positive experiences in the natural world, it can lead to upsetting results. Research confirms that deficits in outdoor-based play result in a significant increase in emotional and psychological disorders, decreased capacity to deal with stressors, and decreased physical fitness (FP Mainella, 2011). Therefore, the greatest gift you can give your child is a wealth of outdoor adventures.
Summary
In closing, children need frequent opportunities to spend time outside in the natural world. Free, enriched nature play fosters a sense of wonder, cognitive performance, physical health, and overall well-being. Connection to nature will contribute to a beautiful and healthy development. Just go outside and enjoy what our great earth has to offer!
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References
Mainella, F., Agate, J., and Clark, B. (2011). Outdoor-based play and reconnection to nature: A neglected pathway to positive youth development.
Wilson, R. (2008). Nature and Young Children. Encouraging Creative Play and Learning in Natural Environments.
When is a child ready to write letters? Expectations for kindergarten are continually increasing, it is not college yet, but sometimes it feels that way. Many parents get nervous about kindergarten and wonder if their child is ready to write. As an occupational therapist, I emphasize the development of a solid skill base before my preschoolers are expected to write.
Typically, a child is ready to trace and copy some letters at the age of 4. At the age of 5, the child generally has the foundational skills to expand writing skills. The necessary skills include proper pencil grasp, ability to draw prewriting strokes and simple pictures, and letter recognition.
If your child is a child who attended a structured preschool program, his/her teachers followed a fine-motor curriculum. If it was not a formal motor curriculum, your child unquestionably participated in tasks such as coloring, painting, and worked on adorable preschool art projects. She played with blocks, beads, pegs, puzzles, magnets, and other preschool manipulatives. Her little hands worked hard to lay the groundwork for successful writing.
Hand Dominance
It is important to have hand dominance for writing. When children are younger, it is reasonable to experiment with tasks with both sides of the body. However, around age 4, consistent hand preference should be apparent. When uncertain, watch your child. Which hand does she eat with, color, throw a ball, and zip a jacket? Skilled observation will help determine which hand is more efficient. When the hand dominance is decided, then encourage your preschooler to use the preferred hand for writing tasks.
Parents often ask me about a child being ambidextrous, and my answer always is that hardly ever anyone writes with both of their hands. In twenty years as an occupational therapist, I never met anyone who writes skillfully well with both hands. In fact, per literature, only 1% of people are naturally ambidextrous. More commonly, children who have mixed-handed characteristics, and do not have a clear hand preference by age 4, might demonstrate learning challenges. Predominantly, everyone has one hand that is more skilled and more efficient to execute legible writing.
Proper grasp on the writing tool
Proper grasping of a pencil is essential to have efficient handwriting. The most efficient and practical way to grasp a writing tool is a tripod grasp. Tripod grasp means that we hold a pencil between the pads of our thumb and index finger, and the marker rests on the first joint of the middle finger. Our ring finger and pinky are bent, stabilizing hand on the writing-table. Tripod grasp is the most desired grasp for useful handwriting, and children will advance in writing skills quicker with the proper pencil grip.
Proper grasp on the coloring pencil.
The critical aspect for a proper grasp is finger dexterity and hand muscle strength. Incorporating fun hand activities will assist with developing efficient grasping patterns. Some examples of such activities include;
picking up small objects with tips of fingers
kneading, rolling and poking play-dough
playing with resistive blocks
squeezing spray bottles
coloring with short crayons
animals walk to encourage strong hands and wrists, such as crab walk, bear walk, and wheel-barrow
There are several geometric shapes that children need to learn to draw before they are ready to write capital letters. As toddlers begin to scribble, preschoolers start working on controlled prewriting strokes. There are nine strokes and shapes needed to create letters, which include the following: vertical line, horizontal line, circle, plus/intersecting lines, square, diagonal lines -starting top left ( ), then starting top right ( / ), diagonal X, and triangle. Mastering all these nine prewriting strokes is a pre-cursor to successful letter writing. Another essential aspect to add is that we teach our preschoolers to trace copy and write uppercase letters first. Uppercase letters are easier to write; they are the same size and always start the top.
After preschoolers are sufficient with capitals, then we introduce lowercase letters. Some children are pushed too soon to write lowercase letters and form lousy writing habits. It is crucial to follow the developmental writing progression for a solid foundation and writing achievement.
Children are drawing simple pictures
Another pre-requisite to writing letters is the ability to combine prewriting strokes into simple representational drawings. Favorite preschool drawings start with a smiley face and emerge into self-portrait and family drawings. Drawing a house, flowers, trees, and animals are well-liked, as well. Children often start drawing from imagination. They also attempt to copy pictures from books and try drawing everyday objects from their environment. Drawing is a crucial skill that comes before writing. At times, parents often overlook the importance of pictures and jump straight into writing letters.
Letter Recognition
Another important aspect of determining if a child is ready to write letters is the ability to identify letters. All children are different and recognize letters at different ages. A child will know the letters in their name before learning additional alphabet letters. For writing to have any meaning to a child, they must first understand letter recognition. It is wise to emphasize learning letters of the child’s name first before expecting the child to copy or write. Some fun ways to incorporate letter learning is playing with letter puzzles and reading books. If the child does not understand what they are writing, they will become disinterested and unmotivated.
Participating in paper and crayon activities requires our kids to engage in the task and be willing to work on the intricate art of creating something meaningful. Ideally, for preschoolers, we would want at least 10 minutes of productive crayon and paper time. Slowly building up and increasing time is valuable. Our preschoolers must have frequent and regular time to transform their imagination on paper. It is essential to mention that cultivating concentration for crayon activities does not have to always done while sitting at the table. Encouraging prewriting skills might be done while laying on tummy on the floor, exploring with sidewalk chalk or paint, drawing at the easel, or even on the wall during bath with washable crayons. Little steps will create leaps in increasing attention span for writing tasks.
Prewriting Strokes and Drawing Development Stages
Toddlers (1-2)
Marks/dots paper
Random scribbling
Toddlers (2-3)
Controlled scribbling, linear and circular motions
Imitates vertical line, horizontal line, and circle
Preschoolers (3-4)
Copies vertical lines and horizontal lines
Copies controlled circles
Copies intersecting lines
Draws simple pictures such as; smiley face, tree, flower,
Preschoolers (4-5)
Copies square
Copies rectangle
Copies diagonal lines
Copies diagonal X
Drawing examples include; self-portrait, family, animals, cars, house
Kindergarten (5-6)
Copies triangle
Copies heart
Copies combined shapes
Drawings become more detailed and precise (i.e., eyelashes on self-portrait)
Summary
Preschoolers need a tremendous amount of fine-motor development opportunities before they are ready to write letters. Early childhood is the time when children discover, engage, and practice an ample amount of age-appropriate activities that will assist them in developing writing readiness. Toddlers and preschoolers explore with both hands before they establish hand-dominance and use proper grasp for writing. Copying shapes and expanding meaningful drawings takes a lot of practice and effort, which in turn will help with increased attention and motivation. A child with a rich preschool fine-motor and literacy experiences will blossom into a child who is set-up for writing success!
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As a mother and an occupational therapist who worked with hundreds of children over the years, I can testify that block play skills have many crucial benefits in early childhood development. The significance of playing with classic blocks is overlooked. Nowadays, children have access to high tech toys that quickly attract their interest and provide instant gratification. However, the countless number of early childhood education specialists believe in the value of building with blocks.
History of Blocks
There are mentions of the block play being used as educational tools in the late 1500s. In the early 1800s, block construction was first and officially used as part of early education by Fredrich Frobel, the German pedagogue. Frobel designed materials that encouraged educational play for young children. He believed that constructing and rearranging created new possibilities for play and inspired children to make direct connections to the world around them. Many of Frobel’s ideas are used up to this day in preschool classrooms and therapy sessions.
Classic Wooden Blocks
Back in the day, the blocks and various building materials consisted of wooded objects. In our present-day, the preschool building materials are made of many media, such as plastic, rubber, and foam. There is something to be said about the classic wood playing pieces. They are more durable, have substantial weight, stack higher, and last longer. Anytime I work with children on simple block construction, I do prefer working with wooden materials, as they are a natural manipulative, and it brings back more of the meaningful old school block play.
Undoubtedly, the new and improved block materials are valuable, and our preschoolers need to have access to blocks such as Legos, Duplos, and Magnetic Tiles. Some other types of blocks that are less popular yet are fundamental are a variety of connecting and resistive blocks. Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners enjoy great educational benefits from playing with blocks. Every child should have access to a wide array of unit blocks that gear towards their interests.
At
times, child’s interests should be cultivated and encouraged if the child does
not demonstrate particular interest. Having many options to choose from allows
children to come up with inventions of their own, or imitating designs and
copying designs they have seen in the world.
Here are the reasons why block play is essential for children:
Block Play Develops Fine Motor Skills
Playing with a variety of blocks helps develop grasping and visual-motor skills in children. In other words, abilities for the use of small muscles of the hand and fingers, and the coordinated use of hands and eyes for task completion. Fine-motor skills are essential for drawing and writing. Imitating and copying block designs will support copying and writing letters as the child gets older. Resistive blocks, like unifix cubes and bristle blocks, especially help strengthen little fingers.
As hands and fingers strengthen, it will make it possible for children to grasp writing tools efficiently, like crayons, markers, and pencils. With the use of hands and fingers when playing with blocks, children will develop a robust fine-motor foundation.
Bristle Blocks – excellent for strengthening little fingers
Block Play Increases Attention Span
When block play is part of the child’s day, it will boost the child’s attention span. By focusing on a creative task over time, such as engaging in building structures out of blocks, children will increase their mental capacity to sustain concentration. Focusing on activity is a critical skill to learn new information. The more closely the child attends to the task, the better it will be retained. Involving young children in block play is a practical approach to enhance attention span and focus for more learning to come.
Block Play Enhances Problem Solving
Young children enjoy problem-solving when building with blocks. Children discover that many parts become whole; they learn how to assemble blocks; they recognize challenges and rearrange their design; they organize a plan for new construction possibilities. They implement changes and assess the outcome. Unquestionably, exposing young children to a variety of block play will expand their problem-solving skills.
Block Play Fosters Mathematical Abilities
Block play establishes early math concepts that are used in everyday life. Children learn to identify shapes, parts, and wholes. They are introduced to number sense, more and less, learn to count, and work on one-to-one correspondence. Children enjoy determining the length and size of their creations; they complete measurements, how symmetrical and balanced their structures are and decide how many of a particular block they need. Children create patterns, sequences, they sort, group, and classify blocks in their logical ways. Altogether these mathematical concepts are essential to developing in early childhood, and block play is an excellent way to promote math skill education.
Blocks are small, individual pieces that children can put together, take apart, and reconfigure in endless ways. Such a free-form style of playing nurtures the ability to harness the power of imagination in creating and designing structures. Creativity expands when children have opportunities to play, and when they are encouraged to build independently to express their imaginative abilities. Furthermore, creativity can be nourished when wide ranges of blocks are brought into the mix to stimulate new and innovative work.
Block Play Increases Self-Esteem
A child’s self-esteem can skyrocket when they see they were able to create something out of seemingly nothing. Block play helps children realize that they have unique ideas that can be expressed in the real world. The feeling of achieving something while building with blocks will increase a child’s confidence and self-esteem going forward in life. It is crucial to praise your child’s efforts. Without a doubt, honest and specific praise is vital to building positive self-esteem.
Block Play Boosts Social and Emotional Skills
Playing with blocks helps with social and emotional development as well. Block play will get children to work together and negotiate what and how to construct a particular design. Children will learn how to take turns, share blocks, and cooperate with other children. This experience could lead to developing new friends and establishing positive and rewarding relationships. Besides working together with others, children express their feelings, they become aware of other people’s opinions, and they learn to manage their emotions.
Block Play Enriches Communication Skills
Block play opens up a world of new communication experiences for children. While constructing designs, there are endless opportunities for further conversations. This experience can lead to discussions about the project. It will also help to develop new vocabulary and promote communicative expression. Also, children will learn to identify specific attributes of blocks; their length, weight, height, color, texture, and other descriptive features. When a child interacts with other children or adults while playing with blocks, they can co-create an entire story together.
Classic Plain and Colored Block Wood Pieces
Block Play Grows Gross Motor Skills
Playing with blocks can help with a child’s gross motor development. When children play with large blocks on the floor, be they wood blocks, bricks, or something similar, they are working their gross motor skills. Playing with large blocks in this way promotes squatting up and down, the rotating trunk from side to side, coordinating both sides of the body, and moving arms across the midline of the body to complete many versatile movement patterns. Thus, using large muscles for playful block activity will improve the control and quality of movement.
Playing with blocks has been found to nurture the development of spatial awareness within children. This type of play involves constructing structures, where spatial relationships have to be understood. Children also learn to determine when something is incomplete. They can figure out different directions, how far objects are from one another, different shapes, changes in the distance of things, and more. In short, anything they perceive visually gets organized within their minds in a way that makes sense of what they are seeing.
Block Building Developmental Milestones
General Age Level for Block Building Skills:
1 to 2 years old toddlers enjoy to explore with a variety of block textures and sizes, and they like to experiment with holding, carrying, dropping, loading, and unloading blocks in and out of containers. They can build 3-4 block towers.
2 to 3 years old toddlers enjoy lining up blocks horizontally and stacking blocks into vertical towers. They can stack an eight-block tower.
3 to 4 years old preschoolers elaborate on building their stacks and rows, they build walls, bridges, trains. They can stack a ten-block tower and reproduce block designs.
4 to 5 years old preschoolers build intricate block structures that include balance, symmetry details, and patterns. They can create structures such as steps and pyramids.
5 to 6 year-olds enjoy creating involved designs. They create multifaceted structures with an assortment of materials while using their imagination, as well as following a specific construction plan. Children sort, match and assemble with great detail to create their masterwork.
Conclusion
In summary, block play is one of the most valuable learning experiences children can savor during early childhood. Everything from improving fine-motor skills, increasing creativity and self-esteem, to expanding math and communication skills, block play provides significant benefits that support numerous aspects of a child’s development. Please take a moment and check what sets of blocks you have available and how you can use them with your child to nurture their growth. Before you know it, you will see the fantastic benefits described here. Don’t overlook this critical skill as part of early childhood development!
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Puzzles can be an incredibly valuable learning tool for young children. Toddlers and preschoolers increase their development in numerous ways while they are engaged in puzzle-solving games. As an occupational therapist and a mom, I have spent countless hours working with children on all sorts of different puzzles. Playing with puzzles has significant learning benefits. We often think of solving puzzles as a brain workout. Undeniably, it does help our youngsters with concentration, focus, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, working on puzzles provides additional benefits to enhance visual-perceptual, fine-motor, and cognitive skills. Boost in self-esteem and satisfaction when the puzzle is solved is a great bonus for a job well done!
Fine Motor Skills Development
A child will develop fine motor skills by using precise movements to place the puzzle pieces in the correct spot. With puzzle play, children must pick up, flip, turn, twist, pinch, and grasp puzzle pieces, especially if the parts are small or have nobs. Children improve their pincer grip when they move puzzle pieces with nobs and improve finger dexterity when they pick up a variety of puzzle pieces. Preschoolers will strengthen their muscles within their hands and fingers, which leads to enhanced grasping skills used in writing, drawing, and playing musical instruments.
Puzzles improve hand-eye coordination. Preschoolers spend a lot of time practicing coordinating what their eyes see, how their brains interpret the information, and what the hands can do. When children play with puzzles, they position and move pieces, and they learn what and how it fits. Children coordinate the interaction from the eyes with the movement of the hands, which increases their hand-eye coordination skills. Hand-eye coordination is one of the most critical skills for learning, such as; writing, reading, self-care, and playing sports.
Increased Concentration
Putting puzzles together requires the child’s full attention and focus. Puzzles play provides an exciting opportunity for children to concentrate on a task over time. It is a mental challenge, and children work on particular order until the puzzle is complete. Children use a higher level of mental capacity to accomplish a goal, and they stay engaged with the task until they experience the reward of completion. Puzzle selection needs to match each child’s developmental abilities and ought to provide the right amount of challenge.
Choosing puzzles that are too difficult might discourage a child’s participation. It is essential to consider the child’s age, skills, and interests in picking the most specific and motivating puzzles. Appropriately selected puzzles will fully engage and encourage children to accomplish their best work. By including regular puzzle play during early childhood education, the child has a frequent opportunity to progress and strengthen concentration skills.
Improved Self-Esteem
As a parent, there is nothing better than seeing your child succeed in the completion of a task. When a child figures out a puzzle and places all puzzle pieces where they fit, he/she feels accomplished and proud. Puzzle play helps children realize that they can solve puzzles that might seem difficult at first. With a little bit of patience and planning, children can learn to complete puzzles quickly. Finishing a hard puzzle is a huge achievement that will skyrocket the child’s self-esteem. Mastering puzzles builds healthy confidence in young children and leads to increased motivation for further skill aptitude.
Improve Problem-Solving Skills
A variety of different puzzles helps children with expanding problem-solving skills. Even when a puzzle is incredibly simple, it still puts a toddler into the mindset of wanting to achieve the goal. When children solve puzzles, they come up with many strategies to figure out how it will all make sense for the pieces to fit in the right places. Children sort and group puzzle pieces by shape, size, color, and additional features as needed. They figure out the placement of where they want to start the puzzle, at the corner, side, or in the middle. Children identify how to fit puzzle pieces together; they turn, flip, position, move, and twist to connect the parts. Working on solving challenging puzzles is an excellent mental workout. Puzzles improve problem-solving and reasoning skills. A solution-oriented mindset is an impressive skill for children to practice early.
Improve
Visual-Perceptual Skills
Working on puzzle play advances visual-perceptual skills. Children learn to organize what they see with their eyes and create meaningful sense. Visual-perceptual skills are not the same as visual acuity. Children discover that separate pieces form a complete picture. They notice differences or similarities based on size, color, and shape. Children learn to recall visual traits and sequence the correct order while working on assembling a puzzle. They mentally manipulate the position of puzzle parts and recognize that shape is the same, even if it is turned. Children practice locating puzzle pieces in a busy background, and they improve their efforts on the ability to focus on crucial visual information. Visual-perceptual skills are necessary for academic success, such as reading, math, writing, and copying from the board. Providing abundant puzzle play opportunities for young children will foster visual-perceptual advancement.
How to pick the most appropriate puzzles
There is a rich assortment of puzzles on the market. They have various degrees of complexity based on the number of pieces, size of the parts, and designs. It is necessary to assess a child’s skill level and interests, as well as a child’s age to pick appropriate puzzles. Start with simple puzzles that are easy to complete and then gradually work the way up to more complex puzzles.
Types of puzzles:
Inset puzzles with jumbo knobs, 3-5 pieces, matching picture underneath
· Every puzzle piece has a jumbo knob for easy grasp to place a piece in the proper location.
· Children use the sample picture for guidance to put together a puzzle.
· Best for children 3 to 6 years old.
Jigsaw 24 Piece Recycled Paper Table Puzzle
Jigsaw recycled paper table puzzles with more than 60 pieces are generally designed for children 5-years and older
Jigsaw 60 Piece Recycled Paper Table Puzzle
Jigsaw recycled paper table and floor puzzles with more than 100 pieces are generally designed for children 6-years and older.
Jigsaw 100 Piece Recycled Floor Table Puzzle
Fine Motor Puzzles are designed for children 3 to 6 years old to assist with specific fine motor practice.
Fine Motor Puzzle
Conclusion
Puzzle play is an essential educational tool in early childhood development. Beautiful and engaging puzzles help our youngsters learn critical skills while playing. Assembling puzzles is a fun brain-boosting activity that supports problem-solving skills, increases concentration, and builds confidence. It helps with fine-motor skills and visual-perceptual skills development. These skills are valuable as children advance to academic learning in the future, such as reading, math, and writing. Invest in enjoyable family time and encourage your child to engage in puzzle play frequently. Benefits will be rewarding!
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All the information we
receive about the world comes to us through our senses. Sensory integration is
the process in the brain that allows us to take in information from our body
and environment through our senses, organizing all the various stimuli, and effectively
using all this information to plan and execute appropriate responses.
We receive this
information from the sensations of sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, as well
as our secret senses, movement, and balance-vestibular sense, and joints and muscles
called proprioception. Normal sensory functioning allows us to experience and
respond to situations in a meaningful way. It occurs automatically in most
children and adults. It happens unconsciously or with little attention or
effort.
When our brain organizes
all the countless bits of information that enter our mind appropriately, we can
respond and interact well within our environment. We feel protected, we enjoy
our surroundings, and we have the inner drive and motivation to participate in
daily tasks. Sensory integration is the underlying foundation for academic
learning and appropriate social behavior.
Five Senses and Beyond
Vision: Visual processing refers to the brain’s ability to interpret visual information from the world around us. Interpreting stimuli through the eyes, including peripheral vision and acuity, awareness of color and pattern
Hearing: Auditory processing refers to the brain’s ability to interpret auditory information from the world around us. Interpreting and localizing sounds and discriminating background noises.
Gustatory: Taste processing refers to interpreting food tastes for our enjoyment.
Touch: Tactile processing refers to the brain’s ability to interpret touch sensations. Interpreting light touch, pressure, temperature, pain, and vibration through skin contact.
Smell: Olfactory processing refers to the brain’s ability to interpret odors.
Proprioception: Proprioception refers to the brain’s ability to interpret body position sense and control for force and pressure. Interpreting stimuli originating in the muscles, joints, and other internal tissues to give information about one body part in relation to another.
Vestibular: Vestibular processing refers to the brain’s ability to interpret balance and motion. Interpreting stimuli from the inner ear receptors regarding head position and movement.
Sensations nourish the
brain. “You know that food nourishes your body,
but it must be digested to do so. You can think of sensations as food for the
brain; they provide the knowledge needed to direct the body and mind. But
without well-organized sensory processes, sensations cannot be digested and
nourish the brain.” (Ayers)
Our children are
programmed to enjoy experiences that advance the development, and they
naturally seek experiences that nourish their brains. It is why our children
enjoy being rocked and hugged, this is why they like running, jumping,
climbing, swinging, sliding, exploring playground equipment, playing and
building with sand, clay, and paint. All these sensations nourish the young
brain, and it is fun to explore, partake, and develop sensory integration.
“Children are designed to enjoy activities that challenge
them to experience new sensations and develop new motor functions.” (Ayers)
Sensory integration is
when all our senses are organized and work well together to have meaningful
encounters with the world around us. It plays an essential role in child
development. Sensations have a powerful impact on a young child and provide
meaning to experiences. All children must boost sensory integration by
interacting with many things in the world.
Children that are
happy, well-coordinated, and enjoy ever-challenging childhood tasks are the
children that organize their sensations effectively; therefore, they have
uniquely well developed sensory integration. Their brain produces valuable body
responses and valid perceptions, emotions, and thoughts.
“Sensory integration sorts, orders, and eventually puts all
sensory input together into a whole-brain function.” (Ayers)
Some children might
misinterpret integrating sensations. Simple activities might be challenging,
learning might be difficult, and some events might trigger undesired behaviors.
Without well
functioning sensory integration, challenges in learning, development, or
behavior may be evident. “Reading, writing, and
arithmetic…are extremely complex processes that can develop only upon a strong
foundation of sensory integration.” (Ayers)
Pyramide of Learning, Taylor and Trott, 1991
Creating playful and
sensory-rich environments and activities will foster healthy growth. Children
develop skills through play, and a mix of complex experiences will help them
develop enhanced abilities to face challenges in life.
As a parent, when you become aware of the process of sensory integration in your child, you will be better equipped to notice a potential thread or help your child overcome challenges, which will lead to a more regulated child and happier family.
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References
Ayers, A.J., (2005). Sensory Integration and the Child, Understanding Hidden Challenges. Western Psychological Services.
The Pyramid of Learning. Taylor and Trott, 1991, cited in and reprinted from How does your engine run? (p. 4) by M.S. Williams & S. Shellenberger 1994, Albuquerque NM USA: Therapy Works. Copyright 1991 by Taylor and Trott. Permission granted for reprinting for educational purposes.
Development is a sequential progression of growth. When our babies first start to move around, they first learn to lift their head, roll, sit, crawl, stand, and walk. The development gradually progresses top-down, meaning head to toe, and the center of the body outward, tummy to limbs. The big muscles are trunk, shoulders, and hips, and these muscles develop first to provide a foundation for our small muscles to build. The big muscles need to be stable and coordinated to set a solid base for little muscles to develop. Jumping, running, climbing, catching, and throwing are skills that come before a preschooler is ready to complete fine-motor tasks such as drawing and cutting with scissors.
Children acquire fine-motor skills more quickly and successfully when they have a strong foundation in gross motor skills. Shoulder strength, coordination, and stability will support the forearm, wrist, and hand, development in children. If a child has a base from which to work, the use of hands and fingers will develop naturally, enjoyably, and skillfully. The child will be ready to progress with the ability to use hands and fingers and complete higher-level hand-eye coordination tasks.
A weak gross motor foundation will affect a child’s fine motor skill development. When the trunk and shoulder muscles tire, a child quickly loses interest and becomes frustrated in desktop activities. Solid shoulder control and trunk stability will provide the necessary stamina and endurance to sustain the use of hands and fingers for tasks such as building with blocks, turning pages in a book, and coloring. Focusing only on the use of hands and fingers without addressing the strengthening and coordination of the core, upper body, and shoulder muscles will cause fatigue, irritation, and impatience during manual school responsibilities.
Naturally, our toddlers and preschoolers are programmed to enjoy a multitude of physical activities that contribute to their growth. Exploring playground equipment, riding a tricycle, and rearranging small furniture around the house is an enjoyable and constructive developmental experience. Spontaneous children who investigate their surroundings have the benefit of their sedentary peers. When babies and toddlers move around frequently, rearrange, and experiment with the world around them, they navigate through obstacles and learn new skills.
Youngsters who are mostly observers throughout their early years are often cautious and carefully calculate their movement risks. They will need additional encouragement and practice to feel comfortable to perform some physical tasks that seem effortless to their classmates. With patience and kindness, most children will eventually enjoy gross motor activities. It is essential to nurture physical competencies in the young child, so she or he feels confident and positive about themselves throughout their school life.
Some children are born with challenging muscular or coordination conditions or demonstrate temperament characteristics that need to be addressed by specialists. Specific diagnoses require specialized therapeutic intervention to improve the motor function of a child. However, some children might refuse to play or complain after physical activities. If this persists, it is best to talk to your pediatrician.
It is beneficial to provide abundant movement opportunities for young children. Toddlers and preschoolers, especially enjoy movement driven learning. Some children might need extra support to nurture the development of essential gross motor skills, and early childhood is the perfect time to make sure our children have plenty of daily movement time.
Research suggests that children between 3 and 5 years old need at least 3 hours of physical activity per day. Our preschoolers continue to work on perfecting their gross motor skills. They are not yet proficient and continue to develop more complex physical movements daily.
Preschoolers need a combination of structured and unstructured movement opportunities to enhance their strength, coordination, and endurance.
Unstructured physical time would include exploring playground equipment, such as running around, climbing, swinging, and going down the slide. The indoor motor activities consist of playing, moving, and carrying around large items such as chairs, boxes, and blocks that require the use of both arms to pick up. Pushing and pulling with both arms and using both hands to carry large objects is vital. Squatting down, reaching, crawling, dancing, and walking up and down the stairs are other examples of unstructured gross motor activities that kids love to practice at home.
The structured physical play would include games, organized sports, obstacle courses, and specific skill practice drills inside or outside. Some examples of structured gross motor activities would include;
Games; bean bag and balloon toss, animal walks (walk like a bear, leap like a frog), hopscotch, races, Follow the Leader, and Duck Duck Goose.
Organizedpreschool sports such as soccer, t-ball, cheer-leading, bowling, floor hockey, and football.
Obstacle courses– navigating through a variety of obstacles, and changing body positions is the key to physical confidence. -Run, drop, roll -Crawl through the tunnel, jump over hurdles, walk on a balance beam -Crawl under, climb over an obstacle, walk on uneven surfaces, carry large objects with both arms
Specific skill practice -throw, catch, kick, and roll a ball -jump, run, march, hop, climb, balance on one leg, skip, gallop -ride tricycle and scooter
Conclusion
Building and mastering gross motor skills in early childhood will have a significant favorable influence on children’s confidence, learning, and independence. Acquiring a robust gross motor foundation will provide children with academic readiness for more complex learning tasks. Children will quickly pursue and progress with higher-level hand-eye coordination tasks such as grasping pencil and writing. Little hands and fingers will be ready to take on increasing school demands and will develop naturally and enjoyably.
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Most commonly, children attend preschool between the ages of three and five three years old. Some preschools allow children as young as two and two-and-half years old to enroll; it all depends on the nature of the preschool. Often, preschool years also refer to as early childhood education.
It is a critical time to gain knowledge and preparation for kindergarten. It is such an exciting developmental time. Preschoolers enjoy learning, and they love to play and explore. They are active and enthusiastic about the world.
They are curious, observant, and inquisitive. Preschoolers learn through play, and they are like sponges; they soak up everything around them. It is fun to watch kids through their eyes and observe their colorful imaginations and creativeness. As preschoolers skills blossom, their new abilities expand, and their competence grows in many areas of development.
I love working with preschoolers, and it is ultimately my favorite age group. Children demonstrate enormous growth, and we can witness how their skills advance quickly. It is the time when learning is fun and enjoyable. Providing plenty of interactive learning opportunities is the key to academic accomplishments. It is a precious time in our children’s lives, and as parents and educators, we need to use this time wisely. As an occupational therapist, I provide my little ones with a rich assortment of fine-motor activities to ensure their little hands and fingers have a solid foundation for demanding kindergarten tasks to come.
What are the best fine-motor preschool activities? There is a large amount of awesome fine-motor activities and plenty of inspiring ideas on the web, but which ones will give our little ones the most benefit? I evaluated each activity and the advantages it carries. These simple yet super valuable activities can be practiced in the preschool classroom and at home multiple times and anytime.
Play-dough
Knead, roll, twist, squeeze, poke, and pinch
Hide small treasures and dig it up with finger (buttons, coins, beads)
Make shapes; circles, crosses, squares, rectangles, and triangles
Create make-believe, for example, food items, pizza with little cheese strings and little pepperonis, donuts, cupcakes, roll a perfectly round apple, and many more themes such as creating different animals and seasonal fun such as leaves, snowmen, and flowers.
Make letters, write letters with pencil or press with an index finger
Make numbers, write numbers, and practice one-to-one correspondence by rolling small balls to match the number
Explore play-dough mats to add on to the fun (i.e., letters, numbers, shapes,
Use a variety of tools to engage with play-dough, such as; safe knife, roller, spoon-fill, and scoop, use play-dough molds/cutter stencils, texture tools, scissors, stamp, squeezing tools, extruder tools and pencils
Snip/cut play-dough
Create imaginative creatures with new media such as pipe cleaners, spaghetti noodles, glitter, gems, beads, and more.
Make your play-dough, be creative with color and scent to provide an enhanced sensory experience
Manipulating Small Objects
Placing pennies in an opening of a plastic container
Glue and string buttons, practice unbuttoning and buttoning
Solving puzzles is a brain-boosting goal-oriented task
Puzzles have various degrees of complexity based on the number of pieces, size of the puzzle pieces, and design. Start your child with simple puzzles that are easy to complete and then gradually work the way up to more complex puzzles.
Start with an easier puzzle and progress to more motivating and challenging puzzle
Practice picking up and placing scissors in hand with a thumb-up position, independently
Initially snip non-paper items such as; straws, play-dough, slime, spaghetti, strings, etc.
Start cutting across construction paper strips 2-3 inches wide then cut across the paper
Practice cutting on straight lines, then cutting out geometric shapes, variety of different shaped lines
Paste and glue activities
All these activities are versatile fine-motor activities. They help children with hand strength, muscle control, finger dexterity, in-hand manipulation, grasp, hand-eye coordination, touch processing, tool use, coordinating two hands together, visual-perceptual skills, focus, and visual attention. Preschoolers love engaging in fine-motor tasks, and opportunities to soak up all the benefits are endless.
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