Early Childhood is a crucial period for different aspects of development in children, such as physical, language, social, cognitive, and motor skills development. This period offers a critical window of opportunity to shape the trajectory of children’s holistic development and build a foundation for their future. It is a comprehensive approach to programmes and policies for children from birth to eight years of age to protect their right to develop their full cognitive, emotional, social, motor and physical potential. The development of motor skills is important to the educational development of children because it encourages them to take a hands-on approach to their learning; it helps develop their problem-solving skills by building on their previous knowledge and making connections to new ones. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot happened that made learners more passive than active in their learning, and these affected the motor skill development of Grade R learners. This study was therefore carried out to examine the level of motor skills development of Grade R learners after the COVID-19 pandemic in Free State Province, South Africa. To successfully carry out this research, two research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. An Ex-post-facto research design was adopted using a quantitative research approach with a sample size of 143 Grade R learners. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire developed by the researchers on the level of motor skill development. The instrument's reliability was ascertained using Cronbach’s Alpha with a coefficient of 0.87. Mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions, while an independent sample t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. The study's findings showed that the motor skills development level of Grade R learners was above average. It was also found that the difference in the level of motor skill development of male and female Grade learners after the COVID-19 pandemic was not statistically significant. It was concluded that though the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the motor skills development of Grade R learners, gender was not a significant factor influencing the level of motor skill development of Grade R learners. Based on the results of the study, it is recommended among others, that efforts should be made by the school management, teachers, and parents to promote activities that will enhance the development of motor skills of Grade R learners.

Keywords: COVID-19, Motor Skills, Grade R Learners, Grade R Teachers, Pandemic.