Developing Fine motor skills
All children love mark-making in some form, whether it is using fingers, painbrushes, sticks or pens. This term we have been focussing on supporting the development of the children's fine motor skills using a vartiety of adult-led and child-initiated activties to encourage the children to become enthusiastic, confident writers. Here are a few simple suggestions for activties you can do at home to help support their co-ordination, muscle tone and emergent writing skills:
Using flour or shaving foam in a tray for them to practice tracing letters and making marks.
Providing them with bath toys that require squeezing to squirt water.
Having playdough for them to mould and manipulate.
Making mark-making fun and exciting by using their interests to motivate them, e.g. creating pirate maps together or writing letters to their favourite story/TV character.
Providing large pieces of paper or cardboard on the floor to encourage large-scale drawing.
Tracing shapes and lines in the air together.
Playing 'finger football' using index and middle finger and a small ball.
If you would like to discuss any of these ideas further do come and ask and we would be happy to talk to you about them in more depth.