Gross motor skills are the skills that children develop using their whole body. By using their whole bodies children become increasingly confident, agile and flexible. We have a range of weekly activities to target gross motor skills, such as ball skills, balance, hopping/ skipping, riding bikes and scooters and also carrying large objects in the construction area. We also promote bilateral movements such as easel painting, large whiteboards, gutting wall and tummy time with rolls of paper.

Squiggle while you wiggle is a fantastic activity to engage children in developing the motions they need to learn in order to prepare them for writing. Squiggle while you wiggle is an activity to kickstart their journey in learning to write by doing circles, semi circles, horizonal lines and the vertical lines they will use to write a letter whilst dancing along to our favourite music.

Wake up, Shake up and Cosmic Yoga takes place each week to develop gross motor skills. This consists of a mini yoga session which proves to have a positive impact on children’s physical and mental health, strength and balance, children’s’ confidence and children’s’ ability to focus.

Developing fine motor skills enhances hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, problem-solving abilities, and concentration, laying a solid foundation for writing. We have a range of weekly activities to promote fine motor skills e.g. threading, cutting, using tweezers, mark making areas and creative areas.

Mark making is much more than just a scribble! Children learn and begin to make sense of the world through mark making. It is the beginning of a child's journey towards writing and is an important step in a child's development for handwriting, creativity and coordination.

Handwriting is linked to basic reading and spelling achievement; for example, when children learn how to form the letter m, they can also be learning its sound. Handwriting also helps with the ability to recall and remember information. Children practise their handwriting skills to do many tasks, like writing birthday cards and writing letters to each other.