Motor Skills

Whether your little one is scribbling colorful scratches or drawing turquoise tadpole people, the simple act of coloring is a golden opportunity for growth and development. Read on to discover some of the surprising benefits of coloring time, including:

Introducing Cause and Effect

Each time a toddler scribbles on paper with a crayon, they’re learning more about cause and effect. Move a crayon across a paper and get a colorful scribble. Do it again, and the same thing happens!

Fine Motor Skills

No matter how your little one holds their crayon, they’re building the fine motor muscles and skills they’ll need later on to hold a pencil, use a fork, and button their shirt. To learn more about the different pencil grips, your child will use and how to teach your child to write, visit this blog.

Hand-Eye Coordination

Picking up a crayon and placing it in a certain spot on the paper builds kids’ hand-eye coordination. As hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills develop, kids will gain control, and their artwork will blossom.

Creativity and Imagination

Choosing their colors and making their marks, be they scribbles, lines, shapes, people, or more developed scenes, enables kids to express themselves on paper, in full color.

Focus and Attention

Toddlers and preschoolers are just beginning to build their ability to focus on a single task. Focusing on coloring or drawing helps develop your little one’s attention span.

Vocabulary

At first, you’ll talk your little ones through their creations, reinforcing the names of the colors they’ve chosen and the shapes they’ve made. As your child grows, they’ll tell you about their work, what it is and what it means. These conversations are an opportunity to build your little one’s vocabulary.

So you see, there are big-time benefits to coloring! Wondering what your child might be able to draw when? Remembering that children develop at their own pace, many kids can color the following things at these ages:

• 15-18 Months  
  • Scribbles, vertical lines, horizontal lines
• 24-36 Months
  • More controlled scribbling, loops, spirals, rough circles, V shapes.
• 3-Year-Olds
  • Circles, squares, X shapes, dots, tadpole people (heads with legs)
• 4-Year-Olds
  • Various shapes, pretend letters, stick figures, suns, houses
• 5-Year-Olds
  • Shapes, letters, more detailed people (including hair, hands, fingers, and feet), animals, trees, rainbows, more detailed houses

Use pattern block shapes to make a heart! Then count how many of each shape you used to make the heart. 

Print the Activity Here!

You may think your preschooler—or even your toddler—is too young for physics but think again! Little kids love explore and are constantly testing their own theories to help them understand the world around them. What will happen if they push the bowl over the edge of the highchair, for example? In addition to helping them make sense of their surroundings and gain a better understanding of how things work, exploring simple scientific principles early on lays the foundation for a future interest in STEAM learning, including science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Read on for four fun ways to start talking physics with your kids, today!

1. Drop a Block! Introduce the concept of gravity by dropping a variety of differently sized objects to show your kids that everything falls. What goes up must come down! Why? There’s a force that draws all things to the ground and this force is called gravity. Gravity is what keeps your kiddo’s feet on the floor and what brings them back to the floor, no matter how light they are or how high they jump.
2. Roll a Ball! Introduce the concepts of motion, inertia, and friction with a little ball game. Sit down facing your child and place a ball between you. Does it move? No. Why? Because it’s impacted by inertia, a rule that says things will keep on doing what they’re already doing unless something happens to them that puts them in motion. So, give the ball a gentle push. Now it moves! How far does it go? What happens if you push it harder? Does it travel farther? What makes it stop? Friction does! Friction is what happens when two things rub against each other. In this case, the friction caused by the surface you are rolling your ball on causes resistance to the ball’s motion. So, the less friction, the farther your ball will roll. What would happen if you rolled your ball on ice instead of carpet?
3. Float a Fork! Now that your kids understand the concept of force, you can introduce buoyancy and density! Fill a tub with water and add a variety of objects. Why does a rock sink when a plastic spoon floats? Because water is a force that pushes against an object in it. If the object is less dense than the water, it floats. If it’s denser than the water, it sinks! Okay, so what’s density? Simply put, density refers to how compact an object is, or how close the insides of an object are to each other. If they’re very close, they’re very dense. If they’re more spread out, with room for air in between, they’re not very dense. Aluminum foil is a great way to demonstrate this concept. Ball one sheet of foil loosely and another tightly, drop them in the water, and see what happens.
4. Make a Simple Machine! And we mean simple! Use a book to make a ramp and roll a marble down. Stack a few books and use a butter knife to make a lever and lift one of the books. Use a shoelace to lift a small bucket of sand over the park railing – voila, a pulley!

Play first, then explain the concept in the simplest terms, using the proper vocabulary and soon your sweetie will be a full-fledged scientist!

Level up snow play with a colorful science experiment! Ice Balloons are fun to play with and easy to teach kids how water turns to ice. Even if you don't have snow, this experiment is still fun to do using a freezer! Ice balloons are simply frozen water balloons. Once you peel the balloon away and are left with a superb solid ball of ice, add color and level up the magic factor of this experiment!

Get kiddos involved in the whole experience by using the Splashology Water Lab Set! Splashology has all the tools you need to take science discovery into uncharted waters. Encourage them to use the different beakers and tools to mix the colors and fill the balloons!

Once the balloons are frozen, discuss the science behind the water freezing.
- Take temperatures in each location and how long it takes each ice balloon to freeze.
- Have the kids describe the ice balls. How do they feel? What do they look like? What shape are they? Do they roll? Are they heavy or light?
- You can also bring the ice balls inside to let them melt in a bowl. Time how long it takes for the water to return to its previous state (liquid).

Can you believe it is already the 100th day of school? This is an exciting time in the elementary classroom! Whether your student is in-person, virtual, or hybrid, this is still a celebration of academic achievement. Take a look at these activities that will help celebrate your student's 100th day!

Math

In the elementary years, developing basic numeracy skills is a critical component of math instruction. With that in mind, it’s easy to see how the 100th day of class is a great opportunity to test those skills in a fun and exciting ways. Here are just a few examples:

• Count 100 with Snap Cubes! Easy for little hands to connect and twist apart. Great for counting to 100 by ones and tens, grouping, and one-to-one correspondence.
• The Hundred Activity Mat is a great hands-on math tool that will get all your students movin’ and groovin’ with math!
• Count to 100 with Money Activity Set 2. Realistic bills and coins will help your child learn how to add, subtract, and make changes.
• Estimation Station. Challenge your kid's estimation skills with this fun estimation station math invitation. 
• Sing, move, dance, and count your way to 100 with these 6 YouTube videos.

Gym

Get kiddos up and moving with 100 themed activities! Let's get moving:

• Get the whole body moving with 100 jumping jacks or 100 giant steps around the house or even outside.
• 100 Days of School workout. Enjoy a fun workout for you and your kiddos on the 100th day of school!

Language Arts

Incorporate reading and language arts activities that center on this all-important number with these ideas:

• Read, write, and sort 100 words! Students can play independently to test their skills or pair up to compete against a partner, drawing words and using them in a sentence.
• Incorporate a “100 days”–themed book into your daily read-aloud time to practice comprehension skills while counting to 100. Check out these recommended book lists from Apples4theteacher.com and This Reading Mama for a few ideas.

Writing

The opportunities that this day presents to test your students’ writing skills! Try one of these activities with your students:

• Have kids draw pictures and/or write answers to questions like, “What would you do with $100?” “How could you take care of 100 puppies?” “What if you were 100 feet tall? or “What will the world be like when you’re 100 years old?” Let each student choose which question to answer.
• Write out 100 sight words with Sight Words Swat!

STEM

There are tons of fun STEM challenges that inspire critical thinking for your kiddos. Check out these great examples:

• Code with Botley 2.0! Challenge your little coder to build a coding sequence with 100 steps.
• Use 100 pieces of Gears! Gears! Gears!^® Movin' Monkeys^™ Building Set to build a moving jungle playground.
• Weigh-in on 100. Use a classroom scale to determine the weight of 100 dried beans, 100 counters, 100 pennies, or anything else.
• Build a cup tower. Keep things interesting by tasking your students with building the tallest tower, or make it a speed challenge by timing your learners. See if anyone successfully uses 100 cups.

Looking for more ways to celebrate the 100th day of school? You can find all of these ideas (and more) on our 100 Days of School - Virtual Celebration Pinterest Board and It’s the 100th Day of School Blog!

Print out this printable and use it as a smart placemat! 

Click here to Print the Activity!

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!

Your three-year-old will always be your baby, but they’re learning and growing by leaps and bounds, and there’s so much you can do to help nurture their natural development! While children develop at their rate and mastering things a bit earlier or later than others is common, below is a list of social-emotional, language, cognitive, and physical milestones many kids achieve by the time they turn four (and, hence, the things they’re working on when they’re three).

Social-Emotional Skills

Your little love bug is starting to become less self-centered and more aware of the people around them, showing affection, concern, empathy, and a range of other emotions. As their sense of self and self-confidence grows, they may be becoming more independent. By the time they turn four, they may also be able to:

• Mimic you, other family members, and friends
• Take turns when playing games or using toys
• Make eye contact when communicating
• Play on their own for 10+ minutes
• Begin to separate more easily from parents or caregivers
• Recognize and name different feelings, such as happiness, silliness, sadness, and fear

Language Skills

Being able to communicate verbally with your child is an exciting milestone! With a vocabulary hovering between 250-500 words and blossoming grammatical skills, you (and those around you) should be able to understand about 75% of what your three-year-old is telling you. By the time they turn four, your child may also be able to:

• Follow instructions with two or three steps, such as “Please get your shoes and meet me at the front door.”
• Name several colors and basic shapes, including circles, squares, and rectangles.
• Recognize several letters
• Use pronouns (such as it, me, my, you, your, she, he, and we), the past tense, and plural words
• Speak in full sentences of 4-6 words and carry on a conversation using 2-3 sentences at a time
• Tell stories (they may be silly!)

Cognitive Skills

It’s tough to say who feels prouder when a child masters a new skill – the child or the parent! Three-year-old minds are working overtime, observing, practicing, and conquering all kinds of amazing feats. By the time they turn four, many three-year-olds can:

• Engage in imaginative pretend play
• Complete a 3-to-4 piece puzzle
• Build a tower of 6 blocks or more
• Draw a line and circle and begin to draw people (they will probably look more like tadpoles)
• Count to three and begin to recognize quantities, such as one cookie, two cookies, or three cookies
• Sort and match items that are the same or different and compare items by size or color

Physical Skills

If only we could bottle the energy of a three-year-old – it seems they’re always ready to hit the park or playground, race to the corner, or jump off a step. By the time they turn four, many three-year-olds are also able to:

• Pedal a tricycle
• Kick, throw, and catch a ball
• Hop on one foot
• Balance on one foot for 5+ seconds
• Hold a pencil using a tripod (3 fingers) or quadrupod (4 fingers) grip

As we said above, children develop at their own pace, mastering some skills quickly and requiring more practice with others. The more practice they get – and the more support they feel from you – the more confident they will feel as they learn and grow. If you’d like to track your child’s milestones by age, consider downloading the CDC’s mobile milestone app!

According to a recent study from Colombia University, babies born early in the pandemic have slight delays in motor and social skills compared to those born right before the pandemic. The researchers surveyed parents of 255 babies born at two New York City hospitals between March and December 2020.

The survey, completed when the babies were six months old, asked about:

• Communication skills ("does your baby make high pitched squeals?")
• Gross motor skills ("does your baby roll from his back to tummy?")
• Fine motor skills ("does your baby reach for a toy with both hands?")
• Problem-solving skills ("does your baby look for a toy that he drops?")
• Social skills ("does your baby smile and coo in the mirror?")

The researchers found lower scores in gross motor, fine motor, and social skills compared to 6-month olds born at the same hospitals before the pandemic. Surprisingly, the pandemic babies' communication skills were slightly higher! 

So, what’s the parent of a pandemic baby to do? This study may have filled you with worry about your own child’s developmental milestones. As your little one approaches toddlerhood, what can you do to help them close the gaps in these critical skills? Try these engaging learning activities and playful learning toys that will help your budding toddler stay on track so they are ready to rock preschool and kindergarten! 

Gross motor skills -  Gross motor skills are abilities that let us do tasks that involve large muscles in our torso, legs, and arms. 

Free Activities:

• Bear Crawl Gross Motor Activity 
• 12 Quick and Easy Indoor Gym Activities

Products: 

• Stack Em Up Donuts 
• Spike Puzzle Mate 

Fine motor skills - Fine motor skills are the ability to make movements using the small muscles in our hands and wrists. 

Free Activities: 

• DIY Sensory Bin 
• Pom-pom Color Sort 
• Tracing Fun 

Products: 

• Spike Fidget Friend 
• Trace Ace 
• Fine Motor Tool Set 

Problem-solving skills - Skills that help manage their emotions, think creatively and persist until they find a solution. 

Free Activities:

• Pom-pom Match and Balance 
• Frozen Rainbow STEM Challenge
• Toddler Bundle of free printables 

Products: 

• 1-2-3 Build It!™ Rocket-Train-Helicopter
• Puzzle Globe
• All Ready for Toddler Time Readiness Kit

Social skills - the skills we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance.

Free Activities: 

• All About Me Houses Printables 
• Cozy Calm Down Corner
• Little Faces, Big Feelings!
• Opposites with Big Feelings Pineapple 

Products:

• Learn-A-Lot Avocados
• Big Feelings Pineapple
• All About Me Neighborhood Counters 
• Pretend & Play School Set

Babies are not the only ones affected by this pandemic; children of all ages face development blocks. While challenges still lie ahead, Learning Resources wants all parents to know they have a trusted partner with great tools readily available to them. Whether children respond best to physical toys to learn social skills, letters, numbers, and more, or if moms are seeking free online resources such as printouts, educational videos, or skill-building activities, Learning Resources is prepared to keep the love of learning in children’s hearts long after the pandemic is over.