North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Health and Physical Development (HPD)

Subdomain: Motor Development

Goal: Children develop the large muscle control and abilities needed to move through and explore their environment.

Skill Progression: Ball skills

Age: 12-15 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 12-15 Months.

Kicks ball while holding on for support

Situations for Observation of Skill

Observe the child in ball play with an adult or older child.

Elicitation Strategy

Demonstrate kicking a stationary ball. Place a ball next to a low table or a chair. Alternatively, hold the child’s hand. If needed, encourage the child to kick the ball.

Behavior Observed

The child isolates leg movements to kick a stationary ball, but needs support to maintain balance.

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Ball play is a great way for children to develop both gross motor and social skills. Encourage early childhood educators and parents to start ball play from stationary and stable positions. Large balls are easier for the child to use at this age. Ball play also provides an opportunity for older siblings to take turns with the child and “teach” them a skill. Remind siblings to throw and kick gently.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.