Helpful Hints for Developing Fine Motor Skills in Early Childhood Education
1. Learn to throw and catch a ball—start with a large , soft ball about 3 ft. apart. Increase distance with skill. Child ready position is arms extended together with palms up.
2. Learn to kick a ball standing still and progress to kicking while the ball is moving. Adult can roll ball to child from distance of 5 ft.
3. Manipulate playdough into ball, pressing flat and cut with plastic tools or shape cutters. Have child roll dough into snake using both hands.
4. Press pennies into large ball of playdough or theraputty. Child needs to find and remove the coins. Line them up and count them.
5. Pick up coins, toothpicks, rice using pincer grip (thumb and pointer finger). Once mastered with finger, can progress to trying tweezers.
6. Use eyedropper to drop water on paper. Child must squeeze, not shake. Add fun by adding food coloring to the water and use coffee filters. You’ll have tie-dyed paper to dry and cut for another project.
7. Allow your child to brush their teeth for 1 min. Then you can finish if you feel more thorough brushing is needed.
8. Practice stringing with pasta shapes, large beads, buttons. You can stiffen the string with spray starch. Also you can use the round narrow shoe laces. Yarn is more difficult.
9. Tie knots in string. Demonstrate holding each end, how to tie a knot. Keep making knots. Start with 6inch piece and you can add length as skill progresses. Yarn is more difficult. You can also use old shoe laces.
10. Trace basic shapes on cardboard (adult cuts.) Have child trace with crayon teaching them to grasp and press crayon or wide marker. Start with square, triangle, rectangle. Teach them “holding hand” and “writing hand”. It may be helpful to secure the paper with a small piece of tape so it doesn’t move. Children at 3-4 may not have dominant hand choice so allow them to use either.
11. Color with small pieces of crayon which require the child to grip pincer. If you have broken crayons, do not discard.
12. Practice
2. Learn to kick a ball standing still and progress to kicking while the ball is moving. Adult can roll ball to child from distance of 5 ft.
3. Manipulate playdough into ball, pressing flat and cut with plastic tools or shape cutters. Have child roll dough into snake using both hands.
4. Press pennies into large ball of playdough or theraputty. Child needs to find and remove the coins. Line them up and count them.
5. Pick up coins, toothpicks, rice using pincer grip (thumb and pointer finger). Once mastered with finger, can progress to trying tweezers.
6. Use eyedropper to drop water on paper. Child must squeeze, not shake. Add fun by adding food coloring to the water and use coffee filters. You’ll have tie-dyed paper to dry and cut for another project.
7. Allow your child to brush their teeth for 1 min. Then you can finish if you feel more thorough brushing is needed.
8. Practice stringing with pasta shapes, large beads, buttons. You can stiffen the string with spray starch. Also you can use the round narrow shoe laces. Yarn is more difficult.
9. Tie knots in string. Demonstrate holding each end, how to tie a knot. Keep making knots. Start with 6inch piece and you can add length as skill progresses. Yarn is more difficult. You can also use old shoe laces.
10. Trace basic shapes on cardboard (adult cuts.) Have child trace with crayon teaching them to grasp and press crayon or wide marker. Start with square, triangle, rectangle. Teach them “holding hand” and “writing hand”. It may be helpful to secure the paper with a small piece of tape so it doesn’t move. Children at 3-4 may not have dominant hand choice so allow them to use either.
11. Color with small pieces of crayon which require the child to grip pincer. If you have broken crayons, do not discard.
12. Practice