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Mental Checklist for the Preschool Homeschool – Motor Skills


As a teacher, objective based education was the norm. Each lesson was planned via a ‘backward mapping’ process in which what the students were expected to be able to do by the end of the lesson was the primary focus. The objectives. I grew to hate the acronym ‘TSWBAT…’ It took me some time to figure out that it stood for, ‘The Students Will Be Able To:’ I hated, loathed, and despised posting objectives on my board every day. Mine was always a somewhat unconventional classroom in that the narrative of the lesson was the most important thing, and if the story took an unexpected turn that day… oh well… let’s learn something else instead. For English, as well as for Biology. No question was too hard for the class to find an answer to. Lesson plans always seemed more of a ‘suggested guide’ and rather than have a daily plan, I would prefer a weekly or monthly plan, leaving room for ‘exploration’.

Don’t get me wrong… I see real value in objectives. I think it is very important to have some form of ‘road map’ or the curriculum gets bogged down and goes nowhere. You have to begin with the end in mind. My classroom application, however well it worked well in high school in Australia, was not so much of a fit in middle school in the US. I received low marks in several reviews because I did not have a lesson plan to show my supervisor at the end of a ‘surprise observation’. Never you mind that all the other categories were checked off as ‘excellent’.

So I have come to the conclusion that, as good as I was as a classroom teacher, (and I WAS good… VERY good...) I don’t actually fit well in the current factory model of schooling, and might, in fact, do much better as a homeschooler in this day and age.

And I will still have objectives – but not so much as a list of items to be tested; more as a mental checklist for me to make sure that I do have an ‘end’ in mind for each unit of work.

Preschool is a little different in that there is no list of dates, facts and figures to be learned. Instead there is a series of skills and concepts that must be mastered if later learning is to be successful. And yes, later learning is not simply a list of dates, facts and figures….the learning of skills and concepts continues into adulthood. It’s just that there are more dates and facts and figures to learn later ;)

Over the next few weeks, I plan to outline my Preschool Homeschool Mental Checklists for Mum for a range of Objective Groups. This week is Motor Skills. Rather than try to plan lessons around each item (as one would for school objectives, sadly) this is more of a list to glance at occasionally and select a few items to focus on over the course of a week or so. Better yet, pick an activity that your child loves, go through the list to see what skills it hits, and then select a couple of extra skills you can extend the activity with. Be creative!

download link below

Suggested Age Range – 2-3 (My 2 year old can do a lot of these. My 3 (nearly 4) year old can do all of them.)


Gross Motor Locomotor Skills

Hops
Runs/Changes DirectionSkips
Marches
Walks backwards at least 5 ft
Walks tiptoe for short distance
Follows a designated path
Crawls through a tunnel

Gross Motor Balance and Rotation

Jumps at least 6 inches both in the air and in distance.
Alternates Feet Down Stairs
Walks a straight line/balance beam
Stand on one foot for 5-10secs
Climbing (e.g. a slide)
Pedals a tricycle

Gross Motor Manipulative Skills

Kicks a ball forward
Throws a ball overhead
Throws underarm
Attempts to catch a large ball
Aims at a target

Fine Motor Skills

Clasps hands
Touches pointer fingers
Controls fingers individually
Demonstrates pincer control (picking up small objects)

Self Help Skills

Able to button a garment
Able to zip a zipper
Puts on own shoes (no laces)
Can feed self with spoon and fork
Can wash hands
Can get a drink
Uses toilet semi-independently

Scissor Skills

Handles scissors well
Cuts simple shapes

Writing/Drawing skills

Correct pencil grasp
Draws/writes with increasing control
Able to copy simple shapes
Draws and colours beyond a simple scribble

Other

Stacks 7 or more blocks
Pastes objects
Completes simple puzzles
Can pour from one container into another


You can download a pdf copy of this checklist here.

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