Early development of fine motor skills will make it easier for your child later on. Your child’s physical development will contribute to his or her academic development and independence.
When combined with increasing hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills also open new doors to exploration, learning, and creative expression. In fact, research shows that emphasis on purely intellectual activities — memorization of letters and numbers, for instance — is far less useful at this stage than pursuits that encourage fine motor abilities and hand-eye coordination. These skills — rather than counting or reciting the alphabet — lay the foundation for academic learning in later years. In order to learn to write or draw, for example, a child’s hand must be strong and coordinated enough to hold a pencil steady for a long period of time; in order to participate in school sports, games, and projects, dexterity and coordination must be up to par. ~Parents.com
“Fine Motor Skills,” is a common phrase in Early Childhood Education textbooks, but what exactly are they? Fine motor skills are the ability for children to use the smaller muscles in their hands and wrists. Study.com has a video explanation for you: What Are Fine Motor Skills in Children?- Development, Definition, & Examples
Play Dough is not only fun but happens to be a great way to develop these smaller muscles.
The Imagination Tree has some wonderful addition ideas to make play dough more engaging and increase the development potential…
These are the materials that we have to hand ready for any play dough free-play session. We keep these stored in jam jars in the cupboard and the girls can request any or all of these to add to the dough. ~The Imagination Tree
I bet you have never thought of using your colanders this way…
Pipe Cleaners and Colanders
Something else you may have around the house, Knobs and Screws.
Beading is Fine Motor Skill Development 101!
Today’s fine motor skill is stringing beads. I think the best way to introduce stringing beads to a young preschooler is on a pipe cleaner. They are sturdy enough that they won’t flop over when he’s trying to put a bead on. ~TeachingMama
What a clever idea is this! Clothesline In a Box!
Children use their fine motor muscles to squeeze the clothespins to clip each piece of clothing to the clothesline. I tied a piece of thick string to the handles of a wooden tray to make the clothesline, and used mini clothespins (although the regular sized clothespins can be used as well). The clothes are Barbie doll clothes purchased at a dollar store. As an alternative, you could cut out shapes of shirts and pants from felt. ~PreKinders.com
Bubble wrap, paper shredding, and more…
