Improving Gross Motor Skills

• 1). Teach gross motor skills by imitation. Have children imitate a variety of animals--waddling like a duck or hopping like a frog, for example. Play "Follow the Leader" and model a variety of activities, such as hopping on one foot, marching, skipping, jogging or doing jumping jacks.
  
  
• 2). Get children out of the house regularly for outdoor play. Kids need lots of practice performing gross motor skills, and getting outside to run, play and climb is very good way to do that. Make a point of taking them to the local playground or park to climb, slide and swing, or invest in some playground equipment for your backyard.
  
  
• 3). Take walks through your neighborhood. A regular walk can be great motor-skills practice, especially if it includes navigating a variety of terrain types, such as gravel, pavement, sand and grass. Encourage your child to walk on low walls or curbs to develop their sense of balance.
  
  
• 4). Go swimming. Swim lessons or water play can be excellent ways to practice gross motor skills, the water providing resistance to help build strength and balance.
  
  

Improving Fine Motor Skills

• 1). Do some art projects. Painting, gluing, coloring and drawing utilize those fine motor skills very nicely, helping to teach the pincer grasp and hand-eye coordination.
  
  
• 2). Cut things up. Using scissors is a great exercise for developing fine motor skills, requiring coordination. Start with straight lines, then graduate to curved ones and varied shapes.
  
  
• 3). Practice threading beads to help with hand-eye coordination, and practice the pincer grasp. Start out with large beads or colored pasta, then gradually reduce the sizes used for more of a challenge as fine motor skills improve.
  
  
• 4). Spend some time getting messy with play dough. This activity is very helpful for the development and practice of fine motor skills, especially if rollers, cookie cutters and other accessories are used.
  
  
• 5). Stacking activities done with various sizes of blocks can be of benefit to the development of fine motor skills. This sort of play requires a steady hand and good coordination. Start out with large blocks and work up to smaller ones.