THE BRAIN AND MOTOR SKILLS EXPLAINED

The brain is an essential part of our movement. It is where all the orders for our bodies come form. I will try to explain how our movements are connected to the brain.

The part of the brain most commonly associated with motor function is the Primary Motor Cortex which is on the Precentral Gyrus just in front of the cental sulcus. This region, if electrically stimulated, can make the skeletal muscles contract. But the movement signals produced here are very blunt so it is beleived that the signals are refined in various areas including the Medulla.

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS ACTIVITIES

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Play Ball

Gross Motor Skills activity for ages 1 to 7.

This activity is for isolated children, it is meant to help with social interactions.

·       Goal: Develop skills in the movements of arms and in social interactions.

·       Objective: Play catch with someone else.

·       Materials: a baseball or something similar.

·       Procedure: Put the child in front of you, a few feet away. Have him position his hands in front of himself, palms up and hand him the ball. Keep your hands in the same position and say "give me the ball ... (child's name).” Catch the ball when it approaches you.

If he does not respond, repeat the words or gestures. If needed, it is acceptable for you to initiate the  ball throwing.

Repeat the procedure until the child learns to throw the ball. Once he has understood the process, move another step back and throw the ball to him gently below arms. Do not worry if at first he does not catch the ball just keep trying. 

Continue this action until the child is able to catch and throw the ball correctly. Make sure to reward the child and praise him continually.

Going Up and Going Over Simple Obstacles.

Gross motor skills activity for ages 1 to 3

This activity is meant to improve body mobility through imitation.

·       Goal: Improve coordination and motor skills

·       Objective: Jump cross a number of small obstacles.

·       Materials:  shoe boxes, stools, large dictionaries, milk cartons, or similar items

·       Procedure: Place a number of milk cartons and shoes on the floor. Show the child how to go through each obstacle, using movements and try to exaggerate and then help him to cross the same objects by elevating him slightly.

Repeats the word "jump" each time he goes over one of the boxes or cartons.

Repeat the procedure many times until he learns to skip through the obstacles without your help.

When he masters stepping over boxes, help him to jump over larger objects such as a small stool or a bulky dictionary.

Show him how to jump first with one foot and then the other.

If he cannot jump over the hurdles, show the child how to do it and have him imitate your action again.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS ACTIVITIES

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These exercises have to be programmed in advance and they are meant to achieve the objective of developing fine motor skills. It is important to take into account individual characteristics, but in the end one thing is true, the more you practice the better you get, and that it will help in learning to write.

·       Dotted Contents

·       Tearing paper with fingers

·       Fold paper

·       Making braids with wool

·       Thread yarn, ribbon, or cord in a figure prepared with holes

·       Insert beads into necklace

·       Play with colored sand or chalk

·       Trace on large paper objects, hands, fists, or fingers

·       Stamp image on paper or limited.

·       Playing cards. Spread them and hold them.

·       Modeling with modeling clay, dough, cream, sand, mud

·       Draw shapes and fill them with different materials such as seeds, confetti, noodles (stars, letters, pumpkin)

·       Complete figures with pencil or pen

·       Puzzles: Complete figures

·       Fasten and unfasten buttons, belts, fasteners and brackets.

·       Exercise hands and fingers: pounding on the table, playing the piano, doing a certain pattern, raising the fingers one by one

·       Play hand and finger puppets.

·       Finger Painting using tempera, water, mud, or watercolors

Infancy Development

It has been observed by scientists that motor skills generally develop from the center to the body outward and head to tail. Babies need to practice their skills; therefore they will grow and strengthen better. They need space and time to explore in their environment and use their muscles. “Tummy-time” is a good example of this. At first they are only able to lay their belly on the floor but by around two months they start to gain muscle to raise their head and chest off the ground. Some are also able to go on their elbows. They will also start to kick and bend their legs while lying there, this helps to prepare for crawling. By four months they are able to start to control their head and hold it steady while sitting up. Rolling from belly to back movements is started. At about five months the baby will start to wiggle their limbs to strengthen crawling muscles. Infants can start to sit up by themselves and put some weight on their legs as they hold onto something for support by six months. As they enter their first year caregivers needs to be more active. The babies will want to get into everything so the house needs to become ‘baby proofed’. Babies are able to start to reach and play with their toys too. It is said that the use of baby walkers or devices that help to hold the baby upright are said to delay the process of walking. Research has been found that it delays developing the core torso strength, which can lead to different issues down in their future. Around ten months they should be able to stand on their own. Throughout their years of life different motor skills are formed. (Oswalt)

Definition of Fine and Gross Motor Skill

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Fine Motor Skills is the coordination of small muscle movements which occur in body parts such as the fingers, usually in coordination with the eyes. In relation to motor skills of hands and fingers, the term dexterity is commonly used. When applied to the theory of human aptitude, this is called "manual dexterity". The high level of manual dexterity that humans exhibit can be attributed to the manner in which manual tasks are controlled by the nervous system.

Hand movements are initiated by commands originating from a region of the primary motor cortex that contain a high number of specialized corticospinal (CST) neurons, termed corticomotoneuronal (CM) cells. CM cells descend into the spinal cord to form monosynaptic connections with motor neurons in the anterior horn. Research has shown that these monosynaptic connections may account for the high amount of manual dexterity observed in primates, including humans.

Gross Motor Skills are the abilities usually acquired during infancy and early childhood as part of a child's motor development. By the time they reach two years of age, almost all children are able to stand up, walk and run, walk up stairs, etc. These skills are built upon, improved and better controlled throughout early childhood, and continue in refinement throughout most of the individual's years of development into adulthood. These gross movements come from large muscle groups and whole body movement. These skills develop in a head-to-toe order. The children will typically learn head control, trunk stability, and then standing up and walking. (Humphrey)