Fine motor skills are important for school readiness.  Research indicates that fine motor skills play a role in cognition and language development.

Origami as an art reaches back thousands of years. “Origami is really almost as old as paper,” Ms. Zeichner explained — it means “to fold paper” in Japanese — and paper in sheet form is thought to have been invented in China around 105 A.D.

What is balance and coordination?

Balance is the ability to maintain a controlled body position during task performance.

There are two main types of balance:

Static balance is the ability to keep an unmoving position with control (e.g. “Freeze” or “statue” games).

Dynamic balance is the ability to remain balanced while engaged in movement (e.g. running or bike riding)

Coordination is the ability to maintain controlled positions during both static (still) and dynamic (moving) activities.

Why are balance and coordination important?

Balance and coordination allows people to be involved in the sports participation with a reasonable degree of success (e.g. walking a balance beam or playing football).

The involvement in sport is helpful in maintaining self regulation for daily tasks as well as developing a social network.

It also helps children develop and maintain appropriate controlled body movement during task performance which, when effective, limits the energy required thus minimising fatigue.

With good balance and coordination there is less probability of injury as the child is likely to have appropriate postural responses. when needed (e.g. putting hands out to protect themselves when they  fall of their bike).