Early learning glossary

The terms that turn up in school reports, occupational therapy notes and parenting advice, explained in plain language — with the free printables that practise each skill.

Motor skills

Fine Motor Skills: Fine motor skills are the coordinated movements of the small muscles in the hands and fingers that let a child grip a pencil, use scissors, do up buttons and turn a page.
Tripod Grasp: The tripod grasp is the mature pencil grip in which the pencil rests against the middle finger and is controlled by the thumb and index finger, leaving the wrist free to move.
Pre-Writing Strokes: Pre-writing strokes are the nine basic lines and shapes — vertical, horizontal, circle, cross, square, diagonals, X and triangle — that a child must be able to copy before they can form letters.
Bilateral Coordination: Bilateral coordination is the ability to use both hands together in different roles — one stabilising while the other acts — as when cutting paper or steadying a page while writing.
Scissor Skills: Scissor skills are the sequence of cutting abilities children develop between ages three and six, progressing from snipping to straight lines, then curves, then cutting out shapes.

Literacy

Print Awareness: Print awareness is a child's understanding that written text carries meaning and follows rules — that English runs left to right and top to bottom, that words are separated by spaces, and that a book has a front and a back.

Numeracy

One-to-One Correspondence: One-to-one correspondence is the understanding that each object counted matches exactly one number word — the difference between reciting "one two three" and actually counting three things.

Behaviour & routines

Positive Reinforcement: Positive reinforcement is adding something desirable immediately after a behaviour to make that behaviour more likely to recur — a sticker after a completed chore, or specific praise after sharing.
Token Economy: A token economy is a behaviour system where a child earns tokens — stickers, stars, points — that are later exchanged for a reward, which is what every reward chart is.
Visual Schedule: A visual schedule shows a sequence of activities as pictures or icons in order, letting a child see what is happening now and what comes next without an adult telling them.

Printing & licensing

Ink-Efficient Printing: Ink-efficient printing means designing a page so it uses minimal ink — no solid background fills, black-and-white line work, and outlines rather than filled shapes.
Classroom Licence: A classroom licence permits a teacher to print and distribute copies of a resource to their own students, without permitting resale or redistribution to other teachers.