Lesson 1. Motor Development

• Young school-aged children


  • Gaining control over the major muscles of their bodies
  • Have a good sense of balance
  • Like testing their muscle strength and skills
  • Enjoy doing real life tasks and activities
  • Pretend and fantasize less often
• Children during this stage

  1. Run

  2. Skip

  3. Hop

  4. Jump

  5. Tumble

  6. Roll

  7. Dance
• Children's gross motor skills


  • Developed enough to catch a ball with one hand
  • Tie their shoelaces
  • Manage zippers and buttons
• Performing unimanual and bi-manual activities


  • Become easier
• Children's graphic activities


  • Writing and drawing are now more controlled but still developing
  • Can print their names and copy simple designs, letters and shapes
  • Hold pencils, crayons, utensils correctly with supervision
• Motor development skills


  • Coordination
  • Balance
  • Speed
  • Agility
  • Power
• Coordination


  A series of movements organized and timed to occur in a particular way to bring about a particular result
• Balance


  The child's ability to maintain the equilibrium or stability of his/her body in different positions
• Static balance


  • The ability to maintain equilibrium in a fixed position, like balancing on one foot
• Dynamic balance


  • The ability to maintain equilibrium while moving
• Speed


  The ability to cover a great distance in the shortest possible time
• Agility


  One's ability to quickly change or shift the direction of the body
• Power


  The ability to perform a maximum effort in the shortest possible period
• All these motor skills are vital in performing different activities, games and sports
• Development of these skills may spell the difference between success and failure in future endeavors of the child
• Large scale body movements are key in this stage
• Boys develop motor skills slightly faster than girls except for skills involving balance and precise movements