Building Blocks: Fine Motor Development in Head Start Classrooms at Greater Lawrence Community Action Council
Authors:
Alexandra Beck, OT/s, Martha Torres, LMHC, & Margaret Morris, OTD, OT, BCP
Abstract:
The federally funded Head Start program at Greater Lawrence Community Action Council (GLCAC) provides early education to low-income families. Staff requested support in fine motor curricular activity development in seven preschool classrooms. This project aimed to provide teacher resources, embed play-based activities, and equip classrooms with an activity toolkit to support the occupation of classroom tasks. The GLCAC classrooms were evaluated on fine motor curriculum through functional observations, teacher surveys, teacher interviews, and student work samples. Based on the evaluation outcomes, targeted activities were created and modeled across classrooms to support students’ fine motor development. Improvements in students’ fine motor skills were observed in four areas and activity toolkits were provided in the seven classrooms to support teacher knowledge and curriculum development for future students.
Key Words:
Head Start, fine motor, toolkit