To practise their gross motor skills this week, Year R pupils have been swimming through an imaginary sea!
To begin, we had a gentle swim in the tranquil sea. We practised our front stroke, back stroke and breast stroke to ‘Sitting on the Dock of the Bay’. Very relaxing. When the imaginary weather turned stormy, the music got faster. Listening to a dance version of a sea shanty, we stopped swimming and described the waves using our whole bodies – especially arms, shoulders and core. We made large ‘U’ shapes, stretching undulating wave shapes and large ‘C’ shaped CRASHES!
The children then went on to draw the shapes on walls and tables with chalk and crayons.
Gross motor skills are those using the children’s whole bodies. Practising specific movements strengthens muscles and helps children to become increasingly confident, agile and flexible. These skills are essential and must be obtained before going on to develop fine motor skills and learning to write and draw.
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