Growing by Grace : June 2013

FINE MOTOR

There's a lot of buzz about fine motor activities for young children online. I started to really focus on it when I had a struggling writer. I became intentional in providing opportunities every day to strengthen the muscles need for writing. Eventually it became obvious that his motor issues extended beyond the scope of normal and we've since been exploring other information to help him. Another blog, another day.
HOWEVER, every child needs to practice fine motor skills. It plays a huge part in handwriting but also every day activities like tying shoes and using scissors. I have compiled a group of activities that we often use and hopefully I will continue to add to them as we come up with new ones !

finger writing in sand

When you use the coloured sand you can change it up to go along with any theme you are working on. Watch out for little cuts if you decide to use salt ! Another good alternative is cornflour.

Scooping and pouring

working the pincer grasp

Movements requiring the thumb, index finger and middle finger to be touching are excellent to get their hands ready for the pencil grasp.

vary your tools

not just for Easter

vertically

Promote muscle development in the wrist as well as the arm and shoulder by having children write, draw and do activities on vertical surfaces.

Your classics are still new to your kids !

Mix it up for different seasons or colours

Initially make the scissors "talking puppets" and just cut through the air. You can practice saying "fast" or "slow".
It is really helpful to cut a variety of materials. Start with a stiffer card stock , old playing cards or straws that require almost no control of the assisting hand.