My friend Katie from MommywithSelectiveMemory has generously offered me a video of her daughter enjoying pouring sand. Sounds simple? Yes, but it gave Katie 45 minutes of mom time while Little Munchkin enjoyed the sensory/ integration experience of sand and developed her fine motor skills.
Katie and I are going to be featuring a series of videos to give parents ideas to help their children develop fine motor skills. Children learn by doing things that are interesting and relevant to them to reach a desired goal—or just for pure fun. They are children, after all. Children learn through playful activities that are age appropriate and attainable. Opportunity, praise, and encouragement will help your child develop skills.
Katie and I are going to be featuring a series of videos to give parents ideas to help their children develop fine motor skills. Children learn by doing things that are interesting and relevant to them to reach a desired goal—or just for pure fun. They are children, after all. Children learn through playful activities that are age appropriate and attainable. Opportunity, praise, and encouragement will help your child develop skills.
What is Fine Motor Skill? It is the ability to use fingers, hands, and arms together to reach, grasp, and manipulate small objects and use tools like forks, spoons, crayons, and scissors. It is the coordination of small muscle movements, especially the fingers with vision, to accomplish a task and prepare a child to eat with utensils, turn pages in a book, turn knobs, pinch objects, transfer objects from one hand to another, use writing tools, use a computer, and dress themselves using buttons, zippers and tying shoes.
Young children are ambidextrous and need to develop the crossover of mid-section. They need to be able to transfer objects from one hand to the other before dominating one hand usage. Around age three to four, children will begin to demonstrate hand dominance.
Little Munchkin loves playing in sand. She is 3 1/3 years old and would have stayed with this task longer but mom had 45 minutes of glorious time to prepare a favorite dinner. To extend this activity, a plastic tablecloth could be put on table with a little sand and Munchkin could trace her fingers around in the sand feeling the texture as she builds her small muscles tracing her name or drawing a unique picture.
Little Munchkin loves playing in sand. She is 3 1/3 years old and would have stayed with this task longer but mom had 45 minutes of glorious time to prepare a favorite dinner. To extend this activity, a plastic tablecloth could be put on table with a little sand and Munchkin could trace her fingers around in the sand feeling the texture as she builds her small muscles tracing her name or drawing a unique picture.
OTHER IDEAS OF POURING include using water, salt, sugar, rice, popcorn, or beans. Of course, children who are still exploring with their mouth need supervision. Utensils or learning tools can be bowls, measuring cups, funnels, spoons, colanders and an assortment of tubes including toilet paper, paper towel and wrapping paper tubes. Children love using "grown up" things such as measuring cups, spoons, and pans.
My littlest loves to play in sand, she is almost mesmerised by it. I hope you have a fabulous Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post about fine motor skills!! I have noticed that my boys love when I give them fine motor activities like dried beans with tiny construction toys in a cardboard flat. Thanks for stopping by my blog and following! It has lead me to your great blog to follow back!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ali and Robyn. So happy to have you visit. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining the link party....your post is a timely reminder!
ReplyDeleteReadWriteSing
This is great! I had just posted something about how many 1st graders I have that cannot button their pants because they lack those fine motor skills. The push on academics is causing teachers to take away the activities that help build the fine and gross motor skills.
ReplyDeleteI would love for you to come read about Conscious Discipline on my blog. It is the most powerful thing I have ever learned and is something that needs to be shared with teachers and parents.
I am now a follower and am excited to read more on your wonderful blog!
Heather
Heather's Heart
This is an informative post! Thanks! Kids learn so much through play and this is a great example!
ReplyDeleteHeather - I can't find the Conscious Discipline on your sites. I'd love to read them. I LOVE your blog - amazing teacher tips. Thank you for visiting, everybody! I'm following ya'll back!
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