https://www.gracepointwellness.org/1272-child-development-theory-middle-childhood-8-11/article/37676-physical-development-motor-development
Physical Development: Motor Development Article
Physical activity is necessary and should be promoted from birth onwards for children and adolescents to develop fine and gross motor skills. Gross motor skills are the larger muscles, arms and legs that aid movement, while fine motor skills involve the smaller muscles, such as n the hand. Although various activities are necessary in a community center to support development of motor skills, grasping, hopping, and juggling are some of the most appropriate for infant, early childhood, and adolescent rooms respectively.
Infant Room Activity
Description of Age-Appropriate Activity
The infant room activity will involve grasping objects, such as rattles and shakers to support pincher grasp development. The activity will involve an adult displaying the object for the infant to reach at and grasp. The adult will also let the baby to hold the object by himself or herself to build strength.
Developmental Milestone
The developmental milestone supported by the physical activity is reaching and grasping objects, as well as to grasp using thumb and forefinger to develop pincer grasp (Hartigan, 2013). The activity will help them to develop fine motor skills that will help them in future activities, such as holding a pencil to write or color.
Support for Physical Development
The activity supports physical development during the infancy stage by teaching them how to use their hands and coordination, which will be necessary during their age and later as they learn how to walk. It will teach them to use their hands and eyes, as well as to coordinate, which are all necessary parts of physical development.
Early Childhood Activity
Description of Age-Appropriate Activity
The activity in the early childhood room will be hoping for one minute in the morning and one minute afternoon before engaging in learning. The activity is aimed at preparing them for the serious academic work, but is also a part of the physical activity training.
Developmental Milestone
While hopping has numerous purposes, such as being fresh ups, it will aid the developing of motor skills and achieve hopping with purpose to strengthen gross motor skills. Movement skills are critical in the development of motor skills, which is what the physical activity will teach the children to achieve. Therefore, the activity is critical during this developmental stage.
Support for Physical Development
Hopping is an important part of physical development in children and will help in movement performance and developmental changes (Masci, Vannozzi, Getchell, & Cappozzo, 2012). They will achieve physical development, which will help them to walk and play in the field.
Adolescent Room Activity
Description of Age-Appropriate Activity
Cascade ball juggling is the activity that the community center will use in the adolescent home. The activity involves throwing and catching of balls for five minutes every day.
Developmental Milestone
Juggling is critical in the development of motor skills, both gross and fine. The activity will teach them postural stabilization and coordination as they throw and wait to catch the ball. They will develop a great deal of postural control through motor skills development (Rodrigues et al., 2016). The activity will help them to perform other physical activities, such as playing soccer or football.
Support for Physical Development
The activity will help adolescents to achieve optimal physical development as they gain peak bone mass that will help them to perform more complicated physical activities in the future.
Conclusion
The activities are appropriate to the age of the infant, children and adolescents as they prepare for complex activities in their next stages. The selection of the activity is a careful process to ensure that they are appropriate considering the age of the individual.
References
Hartigan, S. (2013). Parenting Tips: Exercise and Learning: How to Help Your Baby’s Brain Development. Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited.
Masci, I., Vannozzi, G., Getchell, N., & Cappozzo, A. (2012). Assessing hopping developmental level in childhood using wearable inertial sensor devices. Motor Control, 16(3), 317-328. doi:10.1123/mcj.16.3.317
Rodrigues, S. T., Polastri, P. F., Gotardi, G. C., Aguiar, S. A., Mesaros, M. R., Pestana, M. B., & Barbieri, F. A. (2016). Postural control during cascade ball juggling: effects of expertise and base of support. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 123(1), 279-294. doi:10.1177/0031512516660718