5-7 Years Motor Skills

The winter days can be long, especially when too cold for extended periods outside. Those are the days when I try to set up a fun and inviting sensory play activity for my four-year-old. During a recent snow day, she was desperately trying to convince me that we needed to set up a hot chocolate stand just like an ice cream stand we had set up the previous summer. I was game for the hot chocolate part, but I'm not sure about the standing outside to sell it! We compromised and decided to enjoy some simple sensory play with our Learning Resources® Hot Cocoa Time! Playset and a packet of cocoa powder.

What you need:

• Hot Cocoa Time! set from Learning Resources (Amazon exclusive)
• Bowl of warm water
• Cocoa powder
• Twisty Dropper™
• Tray or tablecloth (ours is an IKEA SMULA tray, they are great for sensory play and crafting with kids!)

Let’s Get Set Up

It’s a good idea to put the materials on some sort of tray or plastic cloth as things may get a little messy. I scooped a few spoons of hot chocolate powder into the brown cocoa powder box from the set. I also put out the kettle, spoons, two cups, some warm water in a bowl (not too hot, of course) and a Twisty Dropper to help encourage plenty of fine motor work.

It’s Hot Cocoa Time!

My four-year-old was beside herself with excitement when she opened the cocoa box, and there was real cocoa powder in there. She carefully scooped the powder into the cups, counting out the scoops as she went. Of course, she felt there needed to be plenty of chocolate flavor, so I guess it’s a good thing she got to practice counting nice and high! Then she used the dropper to add lots of water to the kettle, ready to pretend to boil it. It never ceases to amaze me how patient kids are when transferring water with droppers. My kids always love to use a dropper and will happily keep squeezing and releasing over and over until the job is done. Once she was happy with how much water was in her kettle, she pretended to flick a switch, and we stood and waited as the water ‘boiled.’

‘Click’! The water was ready, and so was my little one. She poured the water into the cups right over the cocoa powder. She then used the spoons to stir in the powder until it dissolved. She was giving a running commentary as she went, telling me how the water was changing color and that she could smell the chocolate, and it was YUMMY! We both pretended to sip on our cups of hot chocolate, giving it the occasional stir as we chatted.

With these sorts of set-ups, I always like to leave plenty of opportunities for my preschooler to explore the materials however she wishes. She asked if she could make a bowl of hot chocolate next, so that’s what she did. She kept transferring the water and cocoa powder, stirring, smelling, and eventually serving. She liked to ensure that all the powder was fully dissolved before serving it to me. This activity allowed for plenty of fine motor development and working on some science fundamentals. She predicted what would happen as she mixed the ingredients, observed the changes, and then analyzed and described the outcomes. It was science without us even realizing it!

Have you ever used hot chocolate powder for sensory play? What is your favorite way to play with your Hot Cocoa Time set? We’d love to try out some fun new ideas. Now I’m off to finish my sixth cup of hot cocoa!

Writer’s Bio

Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind and on her blog, Find the Little Mind.

Setting up a fall discovery table is excellent for various age groups. The goal is to let children make observations and explore the nature items. It’s a good idea to show your child how to use the tools first and then let them explore freely. They can ask questions to you and learn more about the items through books or additional resources you provide. What’s your favorite part about fall? 

Your soon-to-be-Kindergartener was built for summer! There’s so much to do, see, and explore, both inside and outdoors. If you’re looking for some fresh, fun ideas to help keep your rising Kindergartner engaged and learning for the rest of the summer, have we got the activities for you! Read on for three days’ worth of developmental, educational, and social-emotional activities – plus some bonus activities, just for fun. And don’t miss our summer minicamp activity ideas for three- and four-year-olds

Kick off your first day of camp with some fine motor fun! Threading is an age-appropriate challenge for four-year-olds, resulting in a colorful creation they can wear or display. Set out some pipe cleaners and pony beads and thread a bracelet, create a beaded pattern for your preschooler to follow, or stick some spaghetti sticks into a ball of molding dough and thread penne noodles to make Stegosaurus. Find more threading ideas here.

Download this free, printable worksheet, grab some counters, and practice numbers and counting with your kiddo! Count the letters in their name (writing it out on a sheet of paper might help), their age, the number of siblings they have, and more!

You may have seen the pretty, painted rocks people are leaving around neighborhoods across the country as a symbol of kindness. You can do the same! Take a walk and find some medium-sized rocks with nice flat or rounded surfaces. Clean them off and pop them in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes – you can use the time to talk about things that make your kids happy as inspiration for what they might draw. Let the rocks cool just a bit, then use crayons to draw their ideas! When the rocks are dry, use a Sharpie to write caring messages like “Kindness”, “Love”, or “Joy”. Then place them in your neighbors’ gardens to brighten up their days! Find other kindness activities here.

End your first day of minicamp with another cool-down activity – making a snowstorm in a bottle! Gather a glass or see-through plastic jar, vegetable oil, white paint, glitter, and an Alka-Seltzer tab, and follow these instructions to make it snow inside!

Using the proper pencil grip is the key to legible writing. Help your kiddo practice this summer by providing a sheet of properly formed capital letters to trace using a variety of differently sized crayons, markers, and pencils. Around age five, kids should be able to manipulate a writing utensil with three fingers rather than move their wrists or arms. Learn more about proper pencil grasps here.

Brush up on those math skills with a scavenger hunt around the house! Print this list of things to look for and set off to find everyday math items, including number words, items of certain sizes and shapes, pairs of things, and more!

Playing school is a wonderful way to build your child’s creativity and imagination. It also allows your soon-to-be-scholar to mentally prepare for going to school and build the confidence they’ll need to thrive there. Set up some school-ish materials, like a chalkboard or easel, books, paper and crayons, and stickers, and follow your little one’s lead. Will they read to their stuffed animals? Teach you letters and numbers?  Draw a picture? 

Nothing is nicer after a day of summer minicamp than a delicious popsicle! Follow our favorite recipe for fruit and veggie pops, working together to squeeze the lime, drop the ingredients into the blender, stir the elements, and insert the popsicle handles. Talk about the foods as you work with them – what color are they? What is their texture like? What letter does that food start with? How might it taste?

Stretchy, sticky, and squishy, you probably know that slime is awesome. But did you know that slime also helps builds fine motor skills? Measuring, pouring, mixing, stirring, squeezing, smashing, rolling, and twisting are all great ways to strengthen hand muscles and build fine motor skills! Start your last day of minicamp off with some slime, using our favorite recipe.

Practice letter identification, letter sounds, and word building with this simple stamp-and-learn activity! Set out some molding dough (or make your own – another fun minicamp activity!), tools like plastic rolling pins, cutters, kid-safe scissors, and letter blocks or magnets. Then show your child how to flatten the dough and stamp a letter into it. Say the letter name as they stamp, make its sound, and say a word that starts with that letter. See if your child can find the letters in their name and stamp them all in a row. 

The forces of physics are all around us, and summer is a great time to see them in action. Floating in the pool, rolling a ball, and dropping an ice cream cone (oh NO!) are perfect examples of buoyancy, motion, and gravity. These simple activities will demonstrate some of the most fundamental properties of physics in a fun way – and you can follow up your lesson by making a simple machine (instructions included).

Print this free career worksheet, cut out the word cards and images, and match them up! Talk about each job, the responsibilities of each job, the qualities each requires, and which one interests your child the most (and the least).

Tripping and stumbling are not uncommon as little ones develop the gross motor skills they need to walk, run, jump, climb, swing, throw, and catch with confidence. Building the large muscle groups – the arms, legs, feet, and core – provides the strength, balance, and coordination kids need to move their bodies with ease. And the good news is that gross motor development is fun! Give these five activities a go to help your little one feel steadier on their feet:

1.       Hopscotch! Grab the sidewalk chalk and create a simple hopscotch course. Challenge your child to hop through first on one leg, then the other, then on both feet. Add more boxes and trickier moves as your little one builds their skills.

2.       Catch! Start seated, rolling a soft, bouncy ball back and forth to each other. Then stand a few feet apart and practice tossing and catching. Back up a foot or two to increase the difficulty as your child’s aim and coordination increase. Shake things up by attempting to toss the ball into a laundry basket or large bucket or aiming for a chalk circle target on your garage door.

3.       Walk the Plank! Create a floor-level balance beam with masking tape on your carpet and take turns walking across it without falling off. Try walking flat footed, on tippytoe, taking large steps and small ones, and walking forward, backward, and sideways. Turn your plank into a zig zag or circle. Tip: raising your arms out to the side helps with balance!

4.       Stork! Set the timer on your phone and practice standing on one foot for a few seconds, then try the other foot. Increase the time as your little one’s balance improves, then see who can stand the longest on one foot without falling down. Don’t forget to switch feet!

5.       Jump! Place a series of washcloths on the carpet in a room with lots of space (don’t try this with hard wood or other slippery floor surfaces). Demonstrate jumping from cloth to cloth using regular steps and jumping with two feet. Change up the course to make things more challenging – try spreading the cloths out and leaping from cloth to cloth.

6.       Freeze! In a safe, open space, let your child loose to run as fast as they can. Yell STOP and see if they can stand still in place for a second or two before you yell BACK and have them run back to you. Continue with STOP, GO, and BACK until you need a hydration break!

7.       Skip! Skipping requires both gross motor skills and coordination, so don’t worry if your child comes up with their own version of the move. Start by stepping forward with one foot and hopping up in place. Practice this a few times, then practice with the other foot. Put it all together – step forward, hop up, switch – and you’re skipping!

8.       Go Wild! Watch some nature videos on YouTube, noting the way that different animals move. Then see if your little monkey can copy those moves. Call out gorilla, frog, penguin, bear, flamingo, and kangaroo and see if your kiddo can make the moves.

9.       Follow the Leader! This is a great way to help your child practice specific skills they need, from reaching for the sky (without falling over) and balancing on one foot to jumping over a small obstacle or walking on all fours.

10.   Fill the Bucket! Start with two similarly sized buckets, laundry baskets, or clean indoor trash cans. Add small balls, rolled socks, or crumpled paper to one of them, then time your child as they remove the items and transfer them to the other bucket, one by one. Move the buckets father apart as your child’s time improves.

Building gross motor skills is fun, and before you know it your little one will be climbing trees and riding bikes. Enjoy this time together, working on the skills they need to put their best foot forward, literally!

We’ve talked about essential milestones for three-, four-, and five-year-olds, but the growth doesn’t stop there! Big kids are tackling some important tasks and becoming more independent with every passing day. From academic achievements to physical growth and development, the middle childhood years of six and seven can be exciting. Remembering that every child learns and grows at their own pace, read on to learn what your big kid might be doing over the next 12-24 months!

Social-Emotional Skills

Sixes and sevens are building their confidence and, in turn, becoming even more independent from their family members and caregivers. You can encourage their independence by assigning age-appropriate responsibilities and applauding their efforts to master things on their own, no matter the outcome. Over the next two years, your big kid is also likely:

• Becoming more compassionate, able not just to recognize emotions but to empathize, as well
• Making authentic connections, enabling them to make and keep good friends
• Cooperating with others while performing a task, playing a game, or working with a sports team
• Understanding fairness and rewards that are based on better or worse performance or effort

Language Skills

Speaking in complete sentences, your big kid can express themselves clearly, share thoughts and opinions verbally, and may even start to express themselves clearly in written form. They’ll also be working on:

• Building their vocabularies – to the tune of five to 10 new words a day
• Their sense of humor! Advanced language skills bring a better understanding of jokes and puns
• Proper punctuation in letters and other written communications (although not in texts!)
• Taking turns speaking – learning not to interrupt can’t come soon enough

Cognitive Skills

First graders are working on addition and subtraction, writing and spelling, shapes and measurement, etc. Practicing at home will help, especially with:

• Reading! Reading skills are blooming, so be sure to have plenty of books and magazines on hand
• Telling time days, learning the days of the week, and the months of the year
• Skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s and working with math manipulatives
• Counting coins and adding their sums

Physical Skills

Your six- or seven-year-old is getting a better feel for the things they enjoy and maybe pursuing hobbies and showing an interest in different sports. At this age, your child may be mastering:

• Passing and catching a ball by throwing or kicking
• Dancing to the rhythm and beat of their favorite music
• Riding a two-wheeled bike, which requires balance, coordination, and confidence
• Drawing, painting, and writing more clearly (a sign of solid fine motor skills)

Your support makes a world of difference in your child’s development, so keep reading, talking, playing educational games, counting change at the store, asking their opinion, and telling them how capable they are.

Your little love is about to become a big kid! They’re likely heading off to kindergarten soon, and you won’t believe the progress they’ll make this year. From social-emotional growth to academic learning and more advanced coordination, your kids will soon be skipping, hopping, writing, and even reading a few words! While kids develop at their own pace, below is a list of new skills many five-year-olds will acquire over this exciting year:

Social-Emotional Skills

As your kindergartner continues to assert their independence, they’ll become better and more enthusiastic helpers. Let them pitch in wherever you can, even if it means a bit more work for you after the fact. Over the next year, your handy helper will get even better at:

• Following directions (they might even be excited to do so!)
• Helping with chores like setting the table, sweeping the floor, or washing (non-breakable) dishes
• Knowing the difference between fantasy and reality
• Doing things themselves, like getting dressed (YES!), eating, and using the bathroom.
• Sitting still and listening for 15 minutes

Language Skills

At this age, your child may become quite the chatterbox. Their speech is likely to be clear, their vocabularies are extensive, and their descriptions are becoming more vivid. They’ll also probably learn to:

• Match the beginning and ending sounds of words to the appropriate letters
• Use correct grammar most of the time (with some funny mistakes)
• Use the correct tenses – past, present, future
• Use the correct pronouns – he, his, they, theirs, etc
• Answer and talk on the phone

Cognitive Skills

This year, many five-year-olds will enter kindergarten, where their social, emotional, and academic skills will blossom beyond belief. Some of the things your little one might master this year include:

• Drawing and cutting out simple shapes
• Using relational words like under, over, and next to
• Writing upper and lowercase letters, words, name
• Adding and subtracting numbers under five (practice with cookies – it’s highly effective!)
• Reading several sight words

Physical Skills

While fine motor skills take longer to develop, your five-year-old’s gross motor skills will grow by leaps and bounds (literally) this year! Below are a few of the strides your child may make over the next year or so:

• Balancing on one foot for a few seconds with their eyes closed
• Hopping on one foot, skipping, and even jumping rope
• Using a fork, butter knife, and spoon correctly
• Zipping their zipper (hooray!)
• Tying their shoes

Your big kid will learn so much in school, and you can reinforce that learning at home! Play games together, count the cars you pass on the street, find the letter “O” in the stop sign, and read, read, and then read some more. But be sure to make plenty of time for play, movement, and snuggles. You can also track your child’s milestones by age with the CDC’s mobile milestone app!