Dr. Harlow's Rhesus Monkeys

This video with the monkeys is critical to motor development.  It shows how the monkeys like human are drawn to the soft mother rather than the wire monkey.  The only reason the baby monkey went to the wire monkey was for nourishment.  As soon as the monkeys finished eating they would return to the soft mother.  This had a devastating affect on the monkeys socially, they were not able to interact later in life.  They were scared and confused.  This is just one more reason to love your children.

To Infinity and Beyond

It was a toy story week.  It was a bit different this week.  We were out side and there weren't a lot of kids this week.  We assessed dribbling and kicking.  I don't know if I am just more comfortable with assessments or these were just easier skill to assess.  This week we looked at MM who with a little help dribbling completed all the criteria.  Kicking was a little more difficult to assess with being on the blacktop.  The ball moved fast and MM did a lot of dribbling at first.  The college kids helped by passing the ball to MM making it easier to assess the kicking skill.  Edwin and Jillian had a great activity for the pre-k group.  The stick a part on Mr. Potatohead was so popular, even the older kids joined in.  Once again the props were a hit.

Thank You Easter Bunny!!

It was an Easter theme this week.  We observed throwing and catching activities this week.  The boy that we observed picked up the ball with his right hand first. and threw it.  Then he picked a ball up with his left hand and threw it. He threw with both hands pretty well but, his right hand was the more dominant one.  Neither the boy nor the girl we observed this week rotated their hip and shoulders, or transfer weight by stepping with the opposite foot.  Both could perform all the criteria for  catching.   This week was a lot of fun.  The kids really enjoyed all the bunny ears and the props.  It really makes you feel good when the kids really enjoy the activities that were planned for the lab.