Development at 41 Months
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Activity 1
Age Appropriate Gross Motor Development
Bounces And Catches Large Ball
 I am learning how to bounce and catch a ball! Give me a ball of about 25cm in diameter and observe if I am able to bounce it and then catch it in my hands. You may need to demonstrate the activity to me first. Let me have some practice if it is my first time bouncing and catching a ball. Remind me to stay on the same spot when I am bouncing the ball so that it will be easier for me to catch it in my hands. The skill of bouncing and catching a large ball is usually developed between 36 and 44 months. (3 years and 3 year 8 months). |
Steps
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Give your child a ball (about 25cm in diameter) and observe if he is able to bounce it and then catch it in his hands.
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You may need to demonstrate the activity to your child first.
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Let your child have some practice if it is his first time bouncing and catching a ball.
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Remind your child to stay on the same spot when he is bouncing the ball so that it will be easier for him to catch the ball in his hands.
Feedback
Your child is developing excellent eye-hand coordination in bouncing and catching a large ball! His rhythm and timing skills are also developing nicely as bouncing a ball requires good timing ability. This task is certainly more complicated than it looks! Do we have a potential NBA star in the making? You may look at the suggested activities for more ideas with this task.
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Let your child has opportunities to practice bouncing a ball as much and as often as he likes. Who knows? He may very well be a budding basketball star!
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If your child keeps moving his feet and is unsteady during the activity, you can place stickers at the area where he should keep his feet. Tell him that he has to stay on the stickers while he bounces. It is important to keep his base of support steady so that he can prepare his arms to catch the ball.
Use a soft-textured, easy-to-grip ball which will be easier for your child to catch. Of course, the ball should be pumped up sufficiently so that it bounces well.
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You may place your hand over your child's hand to guide him so that he knows how much force to use when bouncing and catching. Use simple verbal cues like "bounce" and "catch" to guide his timing.
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 Create a simple game to increase your child's motivation to learn this task. For example, let him try bouncing the ball 3 times and catching it before throwing it into a big box, basket or hoop in front of him.
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Activity 2
Age Appropriate Speech, Language And Communication Development
Uses Past Tense When Describing Actions
 My current communicative abilities help me to regulate my own behavior, and interact with people around me in a consistent manner. I am beginning to understand present, past, future time sequence and will begin to use regular past tense, e.g. _ed, to mark a past event. I usually develop the ability to use the past tense when describing actions when I am between 41 and 46 months. (3 year 5 months and 3 year 10 months). |
Steps
Feedback
Remember that a child usually develops the ability to use the past tense when describing actions between 41 and 46 months. To make sure that your child understands that the event is over, talk it over with your child as soon as possible using appropriate language. He should pick it up soon, especially with your emphasis on it. E.g. 'What did we do just now?' then follow up with a reply 'Mummy PUSHED you on the swing'.
Celebrate when he is clearly showing that he understands the concept of past and is marking it in his speech patterns. You can also continue to introduce irregular past tense forms such as ‘ate’ for ‘eat’, or ‘went’ for ‘go’, etc.
Do take a look at the suggested activities for more ideas.
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If you have access to a video camera, home videos are excellent for demonstrating past events! Show a short clip of a video, preferably with your child in it, then pause it and him to describe what happened.
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After listening to your child say something, if it is not grammatically correct, you can correct it by restating his point in the correct way. E.g. Your child might say:' I come home and watch T.V.!' You say:'Yes, you CAME home and WATCHED T.V.'.
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