Fine Motor Skills

We recently bought some markers for Spencer's white board.  He seems to enjoy the white board side more than the chalkboard side these days.  Last week he asked me to write his name on the board.  I said I would, but only if he traced over it.

I wrote in yellow.  He wrote over that in blue.  This is totally unassisted.  I was not doing hand over hand guidance with him.

It's pretty good, huh?

I mean, he is only 3.5 years old.

I snapped some quick pictures because he won't leave anything on the white board for more than 35 seconds.  He thinks erasing it is just as enjoyable as actually coloring on it.

Moving on.

 As a speech therapist I know a lot about speech and language development (duh).  When I evaluate kids and then explain the results to parents I talk a great deal about typical development and developmental milestones. During meetings I also spend a lot of time listening to the evaluation results of the physical therapist, occupational therapist and psychologist.  I always love listening to other professionals, because I learn such interesting information.  For example, did you know there is a typical progression of drawing development in children? 

Stage 1 is the scribbling stage.  This happens around 18 months-2 years. Disordered scribbles are simply records of enjoyable kinesthetic activity, not attempts at portraying the visual world. After six months of scribbling, marks are more orderly as children become more engrossed. Soon they begin to name scribbles, an important milestone in development.

Stage 2 is the preschematic stage.  This happens between ages 3-5.

First conscious creation of form occurs around age three and provides a tangible record of the child's thinking process. The first representational attempt is a person, usually with a circle for the head and two vertical lines for legs. Later other forms develop, clearly recognizable and often quite complex. Children continually search for new concepts so symbols constantly change.

Let me introduce you to Spencer's first representational attempt at a person:

I love it.  I could not be more proud of him for making this potato man.  I just hope it wasn't supposed to be me.