Developing Fine Motor Skills
February 26, 2020
Playing with Play Dough
Play Dough is a classic toy which allows the child to use his or her hands to make shapes and is just what they need to work their hands. Play Dough requires strength in the hands and fingers in order to be shaped; this is why it is such a good game for developing those fine muscles in the hand and fingers.
Art with Syringes
Manipulating syringes will also build good hand control and dexterity, so you can use these simple items to make fun activities that will develop great motor skills. Just give your child liquid colours, generous sheets of paper and a syringe. The idea is to use the syringe to draw up the liquid colours that will be then squirted onto the paper.
Water Tracing
This is another great activity to enjoy with your child if you have a small blackboard and some chalk. You will have to write some letters onto the blackboard with the chalk and ask the child to trace them by using a small brush dipped in water. The idea is to make the child follow the lines of each letter with water.
Using a Special Mobile App
As mentioned earlier, technology doesn’t have to be the bad guy when it comes to developing fine motor skills. Among the activities unrolled in this direction, you can also include Scriba Snap, a special app developed for the Android operating system that is designed to help children improve their motor skills. The app works by the child adjusting the pressure in their hand when squeezing different items displayed on the device’s screen. The idea is to apply the right amount of pressure so that the displayed items end up having the same size.
Beading, Sewing, and other similar activities
Any creative activity that involves the use of the hands, like beading, sewing, lacing, painting, drawing, sticking stickers, and so on, should be encouraged. It is easy and affordable to come up with new and exciting activities of this kind by using simple everyday items, which will contribute to your child developing their fine motor skills.
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