This is a fun post for moms with preschoolers. If you’re wondering how to evaluate your child’s development and want some ideas for helping your child grow in creative and meaningful play then you’ll find the charts on my blog very helpful. This post includes a chart for Creative Movement and Curiosity and I’ve posted previously on Small and Large Motor Skills.
One of the things that I find challenging as a mom is determining what to focus on when I am spending time with my preschoolers whether it is play, reading or some other activity. My time is limited and I like having a checklist to guide us in our activities. My hope is that by sharing these assessment charts, you can glean some ideas for activities with your little ones too.
I’m not an expert in preschooler development but I’m passionate about it and I’ve been reading some great books.
Skills for Preschool Teachers by Janice J. Beaty is filled with information about ways to enrich your preschooler’s education. In this book she has authorized reproduction of these charts if they are being used to assess preschooler development – hence they are being included here. The book includes everything from how to set up your preschool classroom to books and other resources for preschooler enrichment. I’ve included an affiliate link to the the book on Amazon for your convenience. Since I am preschooling my two little ones at home, I have found the book to be extremely helpful.
You can use these assessment charts in a number of ways. As a mom these charts help me determine areas of focus for our play. These charts are also helpful if you are trying to plan activities around preparing your preschooler for kindergarten. I think it’s important to point out that, according to the book, all children are different and all of them develop at their own pace. Don’t be discouraged if your child is not exhibiting skills in a certain area, it just means that it may be an area that you want to spend some time with your little one – engaging in activities that help them strengthen their skills.
You can download this chart FREE and use it for your own assessments. I think this is great information for all parents, because you can use it to help evaluate if your child is getting the education they need either at home or via a preschool.
This post includes two assessment categories – creative movement and curiosity. I think when you review the chart you’ll see that it’s a perfect springboard for planning fun activities with your preschooler.
The “Creative Movement” side of this chart stretches me as a mom. As a young child my mom enrolled me in ballet and tap and eventually gymnastics and cheerleading. My husband and I have talked about getting our boys into sports, but I never realized how important creative movement is for boys. In reviewing the book, creative movement is tied to rhythm. This typically means moving to music, but it can also mean drumming or moving to something like “Simon Says.” The key is to help your child’s brain create pathways that will help them link their movements to a rhythm or beat. I think it’s a great way to have fun with my boys and encourages some “silly” time with them.
I’ve also found that on days when we include physical activity in our routine, my boys sleep better at both nap and bed times. Playing games that incorporate movement helps my children to have an outlet for all their energy. Even when I’m tired, I try to get them outside to play or we play games indoors to help them climb, wiggle, or exercise as a means to use up some of their extra energy.
Great ideas for some easy “Creative Movement” activities that you can do with your pre-school age child ~ please add any additional ideas you have in the comments 🙂
- Simon Says
- Hokey Pokey
- Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Ring-around-the-Rosey
- Creating shapes with your body – make alphabet letters or things like circles, squares and triangles
- Jumping Beans – This post includes FREE Printables to create your own “jumping beans” game at home
- Imitating Animals and their movements (you can download a FREE Safari Animals Bundle that includes a game for imitating Safari Animal Movements by subscribing to my blog – the link is at the bottom of your subscription feed)
Some Examples of Creative Movement:
In the first photo, my eldest is imitating a “Staying Alive” dance move. In the middle photo two boys are playing with a drum. In the picture on the far right, my niece is demonstrating a dance move from ballet class.
The “Curiosity” side of the chart reminds me of how simple science exploration can be. To a young child everything is new. I think the key to setting a foundation in the sciences is to introduce your child to the various properties of objects. Teaching them about the characteristics of animals, plants and materials helps them to classify and categorize objects and things. Encourage them to ask questions, and explore the world around them
Great ideas for some easy activities to inspire curiosity that you can do with your pre-school age child: (feel free to link up your ideas for inspiring pre-schoolers to engage in activities that spark their curiosity in the link-up below)
- Nature Walk
- Sensory Play – touching and exploring a variety of surfaces and consistencies
- Cooking in the kitchen
- Using measuring cups and tape measures
- Stacking and sorting boxes or buckets
- Watching videos about animals and playing games to teach them about the characteristics of various animals (you can download a FREE Farm Animals Bundle that includes information on various farm animals by subscribing to my blog – the link is at the bottom of your subscription feed)
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Some examples of Play to Encourage Curiosity:
The first photo is of Peanut playing a numbers matching game. The second photo is from a visit to our pediatrician. In the last photo Peanut is introduced to his Aunt’s vegetable garden.
These “creative movement” and “curiosity” skills also align with the “music”, “movement”, and “senses” categories from the Montessori Preschool Planning post written previously . The Montessori post includes a bunch of other ideas for creative play.
Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone reading this blog. You can now cross-reference the developmental areas of Montessori with where your preschooler is at developmentally with these assessment charts.
Some other categories for assessment include:
- Small and Large Motor Skills
- Creative Movement and Curiosity
- Cognitive Concepts
- Listening and Speaking Skills for Teachers
- Reading Behaviors
- Writing Behaviors
- Self-Concept
- Self-Help Skills
- Social Skills
I’ll be blogging about some of the other skills as we progress.
If you found this post helpful I’d love to hear from you in the comments. You can also help my blog grow by liking my Facebook page at: HappyandBlessedHome.
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