Footsteps Children’s Centre
Play opportunities that promote children’s development
Physical play
Physical play is divided into two sections fine and gross motor. Fine motor movements are small movements usually associated with the hands. Gross motor movements are large movements to do with the arms and legs.
When children have a wide range of play opportunities it allows them to gain physical skills and to explore textures, shapes, colours and sounds. They also need play opportunities with adults which will allow children to learn that play is enjoyable.
Physical play encourages babies and toddlers to move and to learn to coordinate their movements. When children have play opportunities it helps develop children’s fine and gross motor movements.
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It helps develop children’s social skills as well as their problem solving abilities. It also helps with their coordination and gross motor skills such as hitting or batting. For example games such as football, short tennis or equipment such as scooters, climbing frames and skipping ropes. These games help children to learn coordination, balance and help them develop gross motor movements. It also helps them to learn social skills as they are playing games with other children.
When children are at this age they develop their fine and gross motor skills.
Fine motor games for this age range include:
• Lego helps children develop as they can build up the blocks and knock them down. Children can also develop their social, language and communication skills as they can be playing with others.
• Dolls help children develop their physical and cognitive skills as they can do buttons and zips. It could also help their social, language and communication skills as they could be talking and playing to others.
• Dressing up which helps children develop their cognitive skills as they can do buttons and zips.
• Balls help children’s physical and cognitive skills as they can throw, kick and catch