Everyday learning, extraordinary movement

There’s something deeply joyful about witnessing a child discover and grow in their own way. Whether it’s the thrill of balancing on one foot, exploring how two objects connect, finding a new way to communicate, or simply enjoying the independence of feeding themselves, these moments are more than milestones – they’re building blocks of lifelong learning.

At ECMS, we believe that learning happens everywhere. And some of the most powerful learning happens not through structured experiences, but through the rhythm of everyday life.

Moving with purpose: what motor skills are and why they matter

When we talk about motor skills in early childhood, we’re talking about the foundations for engaging with the world – whether that’s writing and drawing, climbing and catching, or finding unique ways to move and interact. Fine motor skills involve the small movements of fingers and hands – such as pinching, grasping, turning, or using assistive tools. Gross motor skills refer to whole-body movements – crawling, rolling, running, balancing, or moving with support.

These aren’t just physical achievements. They’re opportunities for children to experience agency, confidence, and independence in ways that are meaningful to them. When a child learns to zip up their coat, kick a ball across the yard, or find their own way to reach a particular resource, they’re not just building muscles – they’re building identity.

The Early Years Learning Framework reminds us that “children learn through active engagement and participation in their environment,” and that physical development – in all its forms – is deeply tied to wellbeing, learning, and belonging (EYLF V2.0, 2022).

Everyday practice, everyday potential

Motor skill development doesn’t require expensive resources or elaborate setups. In fact, the most meaningful learning often unfolds in the flow of daily routines – a child using tongs to serve fruit, hanging a bag on a hook, moving through a garden path, or finding their own way to participate with support.

At one ECMS service, educators noticed a group of three-year-olds engaged in an impromptu ‘construction site’ – lifting buckets of sand, balancing across logs, hauling branches. What looked like unstructured play was, in fact, a masterclass in gross motor learning: coordination, strength, spatial awareness. Yet it was also more than that – it was joyful, cooperative learning, where every child could take part in ways that reflected their strengths, choices, and relationships with place.

Emma Forsyth, ECMS Head of Pedagogy, describes this approach as “meeting children where they are and knowing what they’re ready for next” – an understanding grounded in Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. It’s about recognising that motor skill development is relational, contextual, inclusive, and deeply individual.

The kitchen bench is a place for learning

Think of a child helping prepare lunch. Peeling a banana, washing tomatoes, pouring water – or perhaps choosing which plate to use, passing a spoon, or signalling when they’re ready to join in. These everyday tasks are rich opportunities to refine fine motor control, hand–eye coordination, problem–solving, and independence.

When we slow down and include children in daily routines, we’re not just teaching skills. We’re inviting them into a shared life, and that’s where deep learning lives.

Rosemary Monagle, ECMS Practice Coach, puts it simply: “It means meeting children where they are, assessing what they know now and what they’re ready to learn next, with or without my support.”

It’s an approach that honours children’s agency – in whatever form that takes – and makes room for delight.

Letting place lead

Place-based pedagogy is a cornerstone of the ECMS way. Our outdoor environments, local parks, and community gardens aren’t just backdrops – they’re living, breathing learning spaces. They invite children to move, to stretch, to explore in their own way, and to build a connection with Country.

Incorporating gross motor experiences doesn’t mean constructing elaborate playgrounds – it can be as simple as rolling down a grassy hill, navigating stepping stones, moving with support along a pathway, or following the flow of a local creek. These everyday encounters connect movement with meaning, and place with practice, in ways that are accessible and joyful for every child.

Every child, every pathway

Not all children develop motor skills at the same pace. Some may need extra time or strategies that support their individual needs. Our role as teachers and educators is to recognise, respond and gently support children along their unique pathways.

Differentiated learning means understanding when to step in and when to step back. As Jemima Christie, ECMS Social Worker, reminds us: “Developmentally, some children may be at a different place than their peers - and that’s not a deficit, it’s a starting point”.

This is critical inclusion in action – where we don’t just place children into something that already exists. Instead, we pause to consider the various ways we can shape and reshape environments, routines, and relationships so that every child can participate meaningfully. It’s not about making space at the margins; it’s about co-creating spaces where children’s identities, strengths, and ways of being are recognised as central to the learning community.

Movement, meaning, and becoming

Children aren’t just learning how to move. They’re learning who they are in the world. By embedding motor skill development into everyday life – with thought, joy, and responsiveness – we help children grow into confident, capable beings.

At ECMS, we honour these everyday moments. Because in every climb, scoop, roll, stretch, gesture, or bounce, children are not just doing – they’re becoming.