By now you should know that fine motor skills are the small ones, using our hands and fingers, and gross motor skills are the big ones, generally using our legs and arms. 

Below is a link to a video I complied of small videos I took of my daughter for the first year or so of her life. I put them all together into this video so you can see the development of motor skills in a child from 0-1 (plus a few months). What I don’t get to share with you easily since we are working remotely is any of the stories related to her birth or development. So…I decided to record another video introducing myself and telling her birth story. (NOTE: This video is from a few years ago. Also my daughter is almost 5 now!)

Watch this intro video before you do the rest of the assignment:

 For this assignment, I want you to watch the motor skills video and while you watch, take note of several things. I encourage you to read through the questions before you watch the video or else you might have to watch it more than once to make sure you get all the info you need.

1) What specific motor skills development growth can you see from beginning to end?

• Specifically, discuss the growth that you saw throughout the whole video as changes from clip to clip. As an example (and this isn’t something you will see so it’s not a hint) you could say – “In the first few clips I could see that she was not yet walking but she initially was holding onto furniture and then began scooting along, still holding the furniture, but kind of dragging her feet. Then I noticed that she held on but was moving her feet more like she was walking. Then she started removing her hands and trying to balance. When she seemed to be able to do that it seemed like she got more interested in trying to walk without holding on but was generally unsuccessful at first….etc.”

2) Based on the discussion from above, what did you see that was fine motor development (or fine motor development attempts)?

3) Based on the discussion from above, what did you see that was gross motor development (or attempts)?

4) What sorts of things did you see or hear me do that were supportive of her motor skill development? Name at least 3 things and also provide an explanation for each as to how those things were supportive of her development.

5) Were there any things that occurred that you questioned? (Like what a weirdo teacher doing that to her kid) What were these things? This is an opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on anything you did not understand, you will not offend me. 🙂

EXTRA CREDIT) Finally, I’m talking to her in a way that facilitates growth and this manner of speech has a distinct name. What is the name of the type of talking I’m doing and how is this different than “baby talk”?

And, before I let you into my parenting world haha – please ignore my messy house, me yelling at my dogs, and my awful voice. 🙂