Healthy physical development occurs along a relatively predictable sequence,with

good health practices fostering knowledge and skills needed to thrive physically,
mentally, socially and emotionally( Virginia Department of Social Serives,2008). There
are two basic stages of physical development in early childhood:gross motor
development and fine motor development. Gross motor development is characterized by
movements of the entire movements of the entire body or large portions of the
body,including the abilities to roll over,walk,run,jump,hop,skip and climb( Virginia
Department of Social Serives,2008).

Fine motor development is characterized by

the ability to coordinate smaller muscles in the arms, hands and fingers such as through
grasping,cutting with scissors or fastening buttons (Virginia Department of Social
Services).
Physical and motor development occur along a relatively predictable sequence from
simple to more complex(Virginia Department of Social Services,2008). Most children
develop from head to toe; they gain control of their head and neck muscles before they
obtain the skill to control their arm movements(Virginia Department of Social
Service,2008). Also, children develop skills from the center of their body(control of
balance and center of gravity) and develop motor skills involving large portions of their
body first.(Virginia Department of Social Service,2008).
I observed 6 children playing at a local playground. There were 4 boys and 2 girls.
They appeared to be between the ages of 3-5. There were 2 five/six year olds,3 four year
olds and one two/three year old. The three year old and one of the five year olds were
girls, while the rest of the children were male. The children ran,chased each other and
laughed and screamed. They played in the sand box and the older kids threw sand at each

other(until they were told to stop). They played on the swings,monkey bars and the slide.
Compared to the younger kids the older children were stronger and preferred the mokey
bars and the swings. They were faster,more sure of their movments,louder, played
rougher and chased each other.
The younger children preferred the slide and seemed to prefer playing with each other.
They sometimes looked for help with the monkey bars and swings. They also fell down
more when trying to keep up with older children, who they they tried to copy sometimes.
They easily could walk up the stairs and get up when they fell down without difficulty.
According to the CDC, some physical development milestones that two years old
typically reach are: standing on tiptoe,kicks a ball,begins to run,climbs unto and down
from furniture without help,walks up and down stairs holding on,throws ball overhand
and makes or copies straight lines and circles(

).While, the children did not have any

balls to play with I did observe that the two/three year old walked up and down stairs to
the slide while holding on and ran, although she did fall down occasionally.
Three year olds are supposed to be able to climb well, run easily and walk up and
down stairs,one leg on each step(

). I suppose the two/three year old was closer to

two because she could not run easily or walk up the stairs with one leg on each step. The
three year olds I observed displayed these developmental milestones. Four years olds
typically are able to do all of these things, hop and stand on one foot up to 2
seconds,jump higher and show more coordination and balance than younger children. The
four year olds showed greater speed, stength and balance than the younger children.
At five/six children are typically able to hop/skip, can do a somersault,swings and
climbs and stand on one foot for 10 seconds or longer. The five/six year olds displayed

these developmental milestones. It was quite easy to identify the five year olds from the
six year olds when I compared the physical capabilities onf the children.