Fine motor skills are an important aspect of physical development in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. During the preschool years, it is important to help your child foster the skills needed for fine motor development; early concentration can help to prevent and mitigate problems later in life.
My homeschooled preschooler has always been a bit slow to develop some of her fine motor skills. As both her parent and her educator, I try to make efforts to facilitate and encourage the development of fine motor skills such as drawing, writing, coloring, cutting and grasping.
Several fine motor exercises for preschoolers can help children master the use of the small muscles in the hands. Here are a few activities to try.
Coloring
Coloring– or vaguely approximating the act of coloring– is usually the first step toward fine motor development that preschoolers take. Some time between 15 months and 30 months of age, a toddler will begin trying to color within the lines of a picture. Encourage this by offering plenty of coloring books, coloring sheets and blank sheets of paper as fine motor activities. Don’t be too strict about the “right” way to color; there’s no need to stifle your child’s creativity.
Drawing
Between 30 and 40 months of age, your preschooler may begin trying to draw pictures that are somewhat recognizable. These may be vague stick-figure people, shapes, plants or animals. Encourage your preschooler to draw by offering fill-in-the-blank versions of simple pictures. Ask your toddler to draw a tail on a simplified cat, two eyes on a face, an arm on a stick-figure, and so on. You can also try making cardboard stencils of easy shapes; your preschooler can trace these with a marker.
Cutting
Most toddlers learn to snip with scissors between 24 and 40 months of age. To encourage his fine motor development, offer your preschooler a pair of safety scissors when you feel that he can use them safely (always supervise him when he is holding scissors). The internet offers hundreds of free sheets that toddlers can use to practice cutting. Play-Doh offers a “FUNdamentals” kit with different types of dull scissors for cutting craft clay; these are useful and don’t require as much supervision for safe use.
Gluing
Your creative preschooler will enjoy any fine motor activity that involves gluing. What’s more fun than a sticky mess? Offer glue sticks as well as liquid paste so that your toddler can enjoy this fine motor activity. You can use glue for paper puzzles, paper dolls, seasonal crafts, paper-bag puppets, and dozens of other fine motor activities. Choose simple crafts that fit your child’s fine motor developmental level.
Writing
At around age three, your preschooler may able to begin writing simple letters– or squiggly lines at look convincingly like letters. There’s no need to fret if your preschooler can’t write a letter until he is kindergarten-age, but there’s also no harm in introducing him to writing early. Encourage your child to copy you as you write large, simple letters. “O” “V” and “t’ are usually the easiest to start with. When you feel your preschooler is ready, try helping him to write his name.
If you are concerned about your preschooler’s fine motor development, consult his pediatrician to find out if he needs a developmental evaluation.
