DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE & EDUCATION - TEACHING (DECCE-
T) Motor Skills Development (MSDV)
DTEKX4-08
ASSESSMENT 2
Individual Assignment
Description/Explanation
(A) Commercial toy that will develop
gross motor skills for children aged
9-12 months.
Source: Toysrus Singapore,
https://www.toysrus.com.sg/top-tots-3-in-1-
walker-ride-on-1080890.html
(a) One of the key feature of
this commercial toy is that
it can interchangeably be
used as a walker and a
ride-on toy. Another key
feature of this toy is the
busy board located at the
front of the toy, where
children can freely click to
play music or commend
the lights feature of this
toy.
(b) For children aged 9-12
months, they can use
this toy as a walker to get
from one point to another.
The toy supports children
in balancing, coordination
and walking development.
It must be played
individually.
(c) At 9-12 months, children
 should be able to stand
holding on to a chair for
more than 5 seconds and
pull themselves to a
standing position by
themselves
independently. (Health
booklet, 2014)
The toy is suitable for
children in this age group
as it acts as a tool that
children can used to
support their locomotor
development such as
walking and stability skill
such as balancing.

(d) This toy will aid children

in their gross motor skills
development as they will
be able to understand
fundamental movement
concept and develop
awareness in relation to
their body, space, effort
and relationship. The toy
provides opportunity for
children to understand the
concept of coordination,
as they will be required to
coordinate their body
movement and the toy
itself.
This toy allows children to
understand body
awareness movement
concept as it develops
their locomotor skill which
is walking and also their
stability skill which is
balancing.

With the toy as a walker,

children are able to
control the directions
which they want to go to,
which allow them to
understand space
awareness movement
concept. This toy also
teaches children the
concept of effort
awareness as they will be
able to control the speed
of the toy.

Lastly, the toy also focus

on relationship
awareness as children
will be able to control the
toy away from people, or
follow a pathway.

Therefore, this toy is

appropriate for children
aged 9-12 months to aid
 their gross motor
development.

(B) Commercial toy that will develop fine (a) This commercial toy is a
motor skills for children aged 12-18 building toy to aid
months. children’s fine motor skills
development. The toy is
themed-related which is
fun and engaging for
children aged 12-18
months. The toy is
marketed for children
above 12 months
onwards.

(b) This toy can be played by

children aged 12 months
onwards and they can
use this toy to play
building blocks. It can be
Source: Toysrus Singapore,
played individually or in a
https://www.toysrus.com.sg/mega-bloks-first-
group.
builders-peek-a-blocks-panda-slide-
1023343.html

(c) At 12-18 months, children

are able to push a toy
with their fingers, and use
 two hands when playing
with toys. (Berk, 2019)
Children can also pick up
small object like raisin,
using only the ends of
their thumb and index
finger. (Health booklet,
2014) This toy is suitable
for children in this age
group as it requires
children to pick up the
blocks using their fingers.

(d) This toy meets the

requirement of NEL
Curriculum Framework for
motor skills development
which is learning goal 3.
Learning goal 3 is to
demonstrate control and
coordination in fine motor
task (NEL, 2013). This toy
encourage fine motor
skills development as it
encourage tower building
with blocks (Doherty and
Bailey, 2009) According
to the Health Booklet,
children at this age can
also put 2 or more blocks
one on top of the other
without the blocks falling.
In addition, this toy
encourages children to be

Reflection on the role of the educator and the importance of appropriate
toys/resources in developing gross and fine motor skills in early years
children.
First, explain the importance of toys and
resources in helping early years
children develop gross and fine motor
skills.
Next, tell us what were your
considerations when selecting the
creative as they can
freely use the blocks to
build anything they like
according to their
imagination. Therefore,
this toy is
developmentally
appropriate for the fine
motor development for
children aged 12-18
months.
Toys and resources are important in
helping early years children develop
gross and fine motor skills for many
reasons. Firstly, they are engaging as
some are colourful, some comes with
music and some comes with lights. This
is important to encourage young
children to use the resources.
Secondly, it helps to develop
fundamental movement concepts as
children will be able to develop
awareness not just for their body but
also in relationship, effort and space by
using the resources.
The first consideration in selecting the
toy is whether it is age-appropriate for
toy/resource for children aged 6 to 18
months and the reasons for your
feelings.
Then, describe what roles does an
educator play, besides selecting
appropriate toys/resources, to help early children. It is through good modelling
years children develop their gross/fine
motor skills.
Finally, explain how the experience of
doing this assignment has changed
your understanding about the role of the
educator in motor skills development,
making clear links to the content you
have learned in this module.
the given age group. Most commercial
toys comes with indicator of which age it
is suitable for but it might be too
complex for children. Another
consideration would be if the toy is safe
for the children. This is to ensure that
when children will not be injured should
they be left alone with the toy or to
prevent any incident from happening.
Educators plays an important role in the
motor skills development in early years
and clear, concise instruction that
children will be able to grasp the
concept of the different motor skills.
Teachers also play the role of a
motivator as they encourage young
children to practice the skill until they
finally get it right. This is important
because children as it builds self-
confidence in young children.
Firstly, it has changed my perspective
about motor skills development. One of
the lesson that I greatly benefit from this
module is selecting developmentally
appropriate resources for different age
groups to aid their motor skills
development. Although there are many
commercial toys being marketed
outside, it is important to consider
whether the toy meets the NEL
framework learning goal, or whether it
serves purpose in terms of being
 fundamentally appropriate for young
children.

There are also many resources that we

can use as an educator when we teach
gross and fine motor skills.

References

Berk, L (2019). Exploring Child and Adolescent Development. New Jersey, NJ:
Pearson
Education, Inc.
Doherty, J. & Bailey, R. (2009). Supporting Physical Development and Physical
Education in
the Early Years. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press McGraw Hill
Education.
Healthhub, Singapore (2014). Health Booklet. Retrieved from
https://www.healthhub.sg/sites/assets/Assets/Programs/screening/201901/pdf/
health-booklet-2014.pdf
Ministry of Education, Singapore (2013). Nurturing Early Learners: A Curriculum
Framework
for Kindergartens in Singapore, Motor Skills Development. Retrieved from
https://www.nel.sg/nel/slot/u566/Resources/Downloadable/pdf/nel-guide/nel-
edu-guide-motor-skills-development.pdf
https://www.toysrus.com.sg/top-tots-3-in-1-walker-ride-on-1080890.html
https://www.toysrus.com.sg/top-tots-explore-‘n-learn-train-table-1122621.html