DIVINE WORD COLLEGE OF LAOAG

GRADUATE SCHOOL

PHYSICAL AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

(Preschoolers and Primary Grades)
Reporter:
Abegayle P. Layaoen

Bryan P. Acasio, PhD

Professor

CE 211 Childhood Development

and Education
 TOPICS

Physical and Motor Development (ages 4-8)

✔ Growth and Change of Body
✔ Nutrition, Health, and Safety
✔ Sleep Patterns
✔ Motor Skills
✔ Handedness

Implication of Physical Development to Learning

Physical and Motor Development
Preschoolers and Primary Grades
(ages 4-8)
1.Growth and Change of the
Body
1. Growth and Change of the Body
✔ Children become leaner and taller
• Both boys and girls grow about 2-3 inches per year
• And gain about 4-6 lbs. (1.81-2.72kg) per year

✔ Physical Growth becomes slower

✔ As baby teeth are replaced by permanent teeth, the face changes, too.

✔ Around 7 or 8, some girls begin to show the first outward signs of

puberty.
Factors that Affects Growth

1. Heredity
2. Environment
3. Sex
4. Exercise and Health
5. Hormones
6. Nutrition
7. Familial Influence
2. Nutrition, Health, and
Safety
Every day, 95 children in the Philippines die
from malnutrition. Twenty-seven out of 1,000
Filipino children do not get past their fifth
birthday. A third of Filipino children are stunted,
or short for their age. Stunting after 2 years of age
can be permanent, irreversible and even fatal.
–UNICEF Philippines
https://www.google.com/search?q=malnutrition+in+the+philippines&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjVovufn-
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Nutrition and Health

▶ Child malnutrition
includes under-nutrition and over-nutrition, both
of which are deficiency diseases caused by
inadequate nutrition (Ge & Chang 2001).
▶ under-nutrition causes children to have less
energy and less interest for learning, which
negatively influences cognitive development and
academic performance. Under-nutrition will also
affect physical growth and maturation, thus
affecting growth rate, body weight and
ultimately, height.
▶ Obesity is a special form of malnutrition, as this type
of diet is likely to have low nutrient-density as well as
high fat and high carbohydrate content (Tanumihardjo
et al. 2007).

▶ Obesity in children also affects confidence and

competence during physical activity and thus further
compounds proper growth and development.
 The 8th National Nutrition Survey reveals that the
prevalence of overweight among children 0-5 years
old has significantly risen from 1% in 1989 to 5% in
2013. Similarly, prevalence of overweight among
children 5-10 years old has also risen from 5.8% in
2003 to 9.1% in 2013.

https://www.panaynews.net/kids-big-problem-obesity-confronts-preschool-children/
 Consider the following advice about establishing eating patterns for
years to come (Rice, F.P., 1997).

1. Don’t try to force your

child to eat or fight over
food.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_53648109_stock-vector-infographic-chart-illustration-of-a-food-pyr
amid-for-children-and-kids-nutrition-shows-healthy-food-.html
2. Recognize that
appetite varies.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_53648109_stock-vector-infographic-chart-illustration-of-a-food-pyr
amid-for-children-and-kids-nutrition-shows-healthy-food-.html
3. Keep it pleasant.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_53648109_stock-vector-infographic-chart-illustration-of-a-food-pyr
amid-for-children-and-kids-nutrition-shows-healthy-food-.html
4. No short order chefs.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_53648109_stock-vector-infographic-chart-illustration-of-a-food-pyr
amid-for-children-and-kids-nutrition-shows-healthy-food-.html
5. Limit choices.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_53648109_stock-vector-infographic-chart-illustration-of-a-food-pyr
amid-for-children-and-kids-nutrition-shows-healthy-food-.html
6. Serve balanced meals.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_53648109_stock-vector-infographic-chart-illustration-of-a-food-pyr
amid-for-children-and-kids-nutrition-shows-healthy-food-.html
7. Don’t bribe.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_53648109_stock-vector-infographic-chart-illustration-of-a-food-pyr
amid-for-children-and-kids-nutrition-shows-healthy-food-.html
 McDonald's pulls a
commercial showing a father
bribing his daughter with
fries in order to play a joke
on her mom at the request of
a single Philippines senator.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/catholics-criticize-ad-and-mcdonalds-caves-as-usual/
Child Safety
3. Sleep Patterns
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/healthy-sleep-habits-how-many-hours-does-your-ch
ild-need.aspx
▶ Preschoolers need about 11 to 12 hours of sleep each
day, which can include a nap.

▶ Children at this age typically go to bed between 7 p.m.

and 9 p.m. and wake up around 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.
▶ Most preschoolers do still need naps during the day. They
tend to be very active — running around, playing, going to
school, and exploring their surroundings — so it's a good
idea to give them a special opportunity to slow down.

▶ Preschoolers may have nightmares or night terrors, and

there may be many nights when they have trouble falling
asleep.
 Benefits of Bedtime Routine

▶ Include a winding-down period during the half hour

before bedtime.
▶ Stick to a bedtime, alerting your child both half an
hour and 10 minutes beforehand.
▶ Keep consistent playtimes and mealtimes.
▶ Avoid stimulants, such as caffeine, near bedtime.
▶ Make the bedroom quiet, cozy, and
perfect for sleeping.

▶ Use the bed only for sleeping — not for

playing or watching TV.

▶ Limit food and drink before bedtime.

▶ Allow your child to choose which pajamas to wear,
which stuffed animal to take to bed, etc.

▶ Consider playing soft, soothing music.

▶ Tuck your child into bed snugly for a feeling of

security.
4. Motor Skills
 Motor Skills
During the first few years of life, children’s brains grow and develop at an
astonishing pace. This growth period also includes physical development
and coordination during which young children are learning how to move
and use their bodies – otherwise known as motor development.

Gross motor skills

Fine motor skills

 Gross Motor Skills
▶ Gross motor skills are foundational skills that
involve bigger movements using large muscle
groups – arms, legs, feet, and trunks – to move the
body. With practice, children learn to develop and
use gross motor skills so they can move in their
world with balance, coordination, ease, and
confidence.
▶ require whole body movement and which
involve large (core stabilizing) muscles of the
body to perform everyday functions, such as
standing, walking, running, and sitting upright.
It also includes eye-hand coordination skills
https://wowparenting.com/blog/gross-motor-skills/
such as ball skills (throwing, catching, kicking).
 4-5 Years Old
Developmental Milestones
• Stands on one foot for up to 5 seconds
• Kicks a ball forwards
• Throws a ball overarm
• Catches a ball that has been bounced
• Runs around obstacles
• Able to walk on a line
• Able to hop on one foot
• Jumps over an object and lands with
both feet together
Possible Implications if Milestones not
Achieved
• Lack of confidence in
movement-based activities
• Difficulties using playground
equipment
• Difficulties or lack of confidence in
interacting with other children in active
environments
 5-6 Years Old
Developmental Milestones
• Able to walk up stairs while holding an
object
• Walks backward toe-heel
• Jumps forward 10 times without falling
• Skips forwards after demonstration
• Hangs from a bar for at least 5 seconds
• Steps forward with leg on same side as
throwing arm when throwing a ball
• Catches a small ball using hands only
Possible Implications if Milestones not
Achieved
• May result in poor self-esteem when
comparing self to peers
• Lack of confidence in movement-based
activities
• Difficulties participating in sporting
activities
• Difficulties playing with moving toys
such as bikes and scooters
 6-7 Years Old
Developmental Milestones
• Runs lightly on toes
• Able to walk on a balance beam
• Able to skip using a skipping rope
• Can cover 2 meters when hopping
• Demonstrates mature throwing
and catching patterns
• Mature (refined) jumping skills
Possible Implications if Milestones not
Achieved
• Difficulty participating in sporting
activities
• May result in poor self-esteem
when comparing self to peers
• Lack of confidence in movement
based activities
 Fine Motor Skills
▶ Fine motor skills involve small, precise
movements of the thumb, finger, hand, and
wrist.

▶ Examples of fine motor skills include picking

up cereal with a thumb and index finger,
shaking a rattle, drawing circles with a crayon,
turning the pages of a book, zipping up a jacket,
and stacking blocks. All of these skills are based
on connections between your child’s muscles
and brain – and building these connections takes https://edu-clips.com/product/fine-motor-skills-clip-art-set/

exposure and practice.

▶ finger and hand skills such as writing,
cutting, opening lunch boxes, and tying
shoelaces. The development of these skills
relies upon the age-appropriate development
of physical skills (such as core trunk control
and shoulder strength) providing a stable
base from which the arm and hand can then
move with control.

https://edu-clips.com/product/fine-motor-skills-clip-art-set/
 4-5 Years Old
Developmental Milestones Possible Implications if Milestones not
Achieved
• Cuts on line continuously • Difficulties holding and
• Copies cross manipulating a pencil
• Copies square • Difficulties learning to write
• Writes name name and other letters of the
• Writes numbers 1-5 alphabet
• Copies letters • Dependence on caregivers form
• Handedness is well established every day activities such as
• Dresses and undresses dressing
independently • Frustration and/or avoidance of
pencil based tasks
 5-6 Years Old
Developmental Milestones Possible Implications if Milestones not
Achieved
• Cuts out simple shapes • Difficulties learning to form letters and
• Copies triangle numbers correctly
• Colours within lines • Poor handwriting
• Uses a 3 fingered grasp of pencil and • Difficulties demonstrating academic
uses fingers to generate movement ability
• Pastes and glues appropriately on paper
• Can draw basic pictures • Fatigue during pencil-based tasks
• Frustration and/or avoidance of
pencil-based tasks
 6-7 Years Old
Developmental Milestones
• Forms most letters and numbers
correctly
• Writes consistently on the lines
• Demonstrates controlled pencil
movement
• Good endurance for writing
• Can build Lego, K’nex and other
blocks independently
• Ties shoelaces independently
Possible Implications if Milestones not
Achieved
• Difficulties getting ideas down on
paper
• Experiences fatigue during
handwriting tasks
• Difficulty keeping up in class due to
slow handwriting speed
• Poor legibility of handwriting
• May impact on self-esteem when
comparing work to peers
• Possible frustration and/or behavior
difficulties due to avoidance of
pencil-based tasks
 7-8 Years Old
Developmental Milestones
• Maintains legibility of
handwriting for entirety of a story handwriting tasks in a timely
Possible Implications if Milestones not
Achieved
• Difficulty completing
manner
• Experiencing fatigue during
handwriting tasks
• Poor academic achievement due
to difficulty getting ideas down on
paper
• Difficulties due to avoidance of
pencil based tasks
5. Handedness
Handedness
▶a tendency to use one hand rather
than the other to perform most
activities; it is the usual practice to
classify persons as right-handed,
left-handed, or ambidextrous.

https://ww.carolinaparent.com/fostering-motor-skills-for-school-readiness/

❖ Most children have a preference for using one hand or

the other by the age of about 18months, and are
definitely right or left-handed by about the age of 3.
 ▪ Genetic Component

-Both parents Right-Handed: 92% chance the child will be also

-Both parents Left-Handed: 50% chance child will be also
 -Left-handedness: once seen as deficiency
▪ Disadvantages
-Appears to be connected by language problems(dyslexia & stuttering)
-Also health problems (high blood pressure and epilepsy)
-Psychological disorders (schizophrenia & depression)
▪ Advantages
-A disproportionately high percentage of math whizzes are left-handed
-Left-handed people seem to have more success at athletic, sports
involving hand use
-Plus higher frequencies of left-handed people are found among
(musicians, architects, and artists).
Implication of
Physical
Development to
Learning
• Research has shown that an increase in physical activity has a significant
positive effect on cognition, especially for early elementary and middle
school students (Sibley, 2002).

• One of the greatest brain gains of exercise is the ability for physical activity
to improve actual brain function by helping nerve cells to multiply, creating
more connections for learning (Cotman, 2002; Ferris, 2007).

• As an added bonus, being physically fit as a child may make you smarter for
longer as you grow old. (Deary, 2006).
▶ A student living with sensory impairment may experience
problems with one or both of these elements, potentially reducing
access to important information. The inability to make full use of the
senses is therefore a huge obstacle for classroom instruction.

▶ For those students with impaired mobility or motor functions,

different obstacles present themselves. Many of these are of a
practical nature.

▶ Students with long-term illnesses of a certain nature could be

classed as having a physical disability. These disabilities will often
be invisible, or not immediately apparent.
 PHYSICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT
LEARNING
WRITTEN BY: MICHAEL BRENT
WRITTEN ON: JULY 14, 2020
IMPAIRED VISION
▶ Vision is a crucial part of the learning process.

▶ Less obvious, however, are problems with

perceptual vision, which relate to the way the brain
processes visual information in order to provide a
clear understanding of what's being seen.
IMPAIRED HEARING
▶ A student with a hearing impairment can have
increased difficulties learning in a classroom setting,
for the simple reason that he may not able to hear
the instructor.

▶ In this way, hearing impairment may seem to be

an "invisible disability" that a teacher can easily
forget about when the student maintains the
appearance of learning along with the rest of the
class.
NUTRITION
▶ Nutrition plays a fundamental role in the learning process for the
simple reason that a student who shows up to school hungry will
not be able to function to the best of his abilities. Although an
adequate intake of food is important, so too is the nutritional value
of the food. According to the website Public School Review, much
of the food available in America's state schools may actually be
negatively affecting a child's ability to learn, as non-nutritious food
containing large quantities of sugar, caffeine, sodium and assorted
chemicals will leave students feeling "tired, unfocused, jittery and
sick," which will in turn affect their academic performance.
FATIGUE
▶ Ensuring a student has had enough sleep is
also a crucial part of effective learning.

▶ In addition, the residents reported that fatigue

brought about problems with long-term and
short-term memory that made it difficult to
recall information that was learnt.
REFERENCES:
▶ https://www.mottchildren.org/health-library/ue5720
▶ https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/129/6/1140/4721878?login=true
▶ https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/factors-that-affect-growth-and-development-in-children/
▶ http://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/2012-13/22032013/hsc/eng/unit_2/hsc_u2_factors_affecting_hg.htm
▶ https://www.unicef.org/philippines
▶ https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/nutrition-fitness/healthy-eating-habits/healthy-eating-habits
▶ https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/health-wellness-and-safetyresources/
helping-hands/healthy-sleep-habits-for-infants-and-toddlers
▶ https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/gross-motor-skills/
▶ https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/fine-motor-skills/
▶ https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/handedness
▶ https://ikeafoundation.org/blog/inclusive-education-changes-attitudes-in-the-philippines/
▶ https://www.teacherph.com/neutral-school-desks/