Fundamental motor skills (FMS) are necessary skills for children to cope with their daily lives and to acquire a physically active lifestyle. Researchers have recommended that preschool-age children participate in a developmentally appropriate practice of balance, locomotor and manipulative skills for the promotion of their FMS.The purpose of this study was to examine the following questions: 1) Does an international Early Steps preschool physical education curriculum (PEC) (Zachopoulou et al. 2007) which lasts eight months have any effects on the FMS development of 4-5-year-old girls and boys in the time of one year? 2) How do the FMS of the 4-5-year-old girls and boys develop in one year? 3) What proportions of the total time of the PEC does one child spend practising different motor skills on the average?The participants of the study were purposefully selected from four different preschools in the Jyväskylä area. At the beginning of the PEC, the mean age of the children in the intervention group (which participated in the PEC) was 4.7 years (n = 39, 16 girls and 23 boys) and for the control group (which didn’t participate in the PEC) it was 4.6 years (n = 45, 22 girls and 23 boys). The children’s balance, locomotor and manipulative skills were measured at the beginning, middle, end and three months after the completion of the PEC by using the test battery of Numminen (1995). The PEC was based on the idea that through the acquisition and development of motor skills preschool children would have the desire to be involved in a healthy lifestyle, be able to cooperate with others and respect individual differences. The 48 x 45 min.PEC lessons were taught to the children by their own kindergarten teachers. Based on the FMS scores from the measurement at the beginning of the PEC, two skilful and two less skilful children (mean age = 5.2 years) were chosen from the intervention group and the proportions (%) of time (s) involved in the different motor skills practice as well as no skills practice during the PEC were calculated from their performances by using a computer-based video observation software (Department of Sport Sciences 2007). A statistical analysis of the children’s FMS development in one year was performed by repeated measurements of linear mixed models. The PEC affected positively the development of the girls' static balance and standing broad jump skills, and the development of the boys' running speed in one year. No positive effects of the PEC on the children’s manipulative skills development were found. The FMS scores of the girls and boys in both the intervention and control groups improved during the year as the children advanced in age. In addition, the improvement of the children’s FMS was also independent of their increasing age. This was indicated by the fact that there were different phases in the children’s FMS development on the course of the year. The girls developed more positively compared to boys in their throwing and catching combination in the spring. During the PEC one child spent an average of 49 % of the time by not practising motor skills, 28 % of the time by practising locomotor skills and 22 % of the time by practising manipulative skills. On the average, the specific skills practice of one child consisted most of all of walking and running and least of all of balance and lower limb manipulation.The current study showed that it was possible to affect positively the children's balance and locomotor skills development by means of a preschool-based physical education curriculum. The curriculum should include more specific skill practice to increase the likelihood of having positive effects on the children’s manipulative skills development in the time of one year.