Increasing Fine Motor Skills?

[ammeador2]

My DD's junior preK teachers told my husband today that my DD needed to work on increasing her find motor skills.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My DD's junior preK teachers told my husband today that my DD needed to work on increasing her find motor skills.

I can give you some ideas. I'm an aide in a special ed preschool class and most of our kids have this issue. Fine motor has to do with the hands and fingers as opposed to gross motor which has to do with the body.

You want to give her activities that will increase her finger strength and hand-eye-coordination. Have her play with Playdoh or clay and squeeze it in her palms and with her fingers. You can hide beads or other small things in the playdoh and have her pick them out. Have her pick up small objects with her thumb and index finger.

You can also work on stringing beads - start with very large beads and a shoelace before graduating to smaller ones. Also, have her pick up objects with salad tongs or ice tongs. You can also get chopsticks that are connected at the top. These are good for picking up pom-poms or other small, soft objects.

Any type of toys that snap together are good such as Legos. Make sure she snaps them completely instead of just laying them on top of each other. You can also work on fastening large buttons and snaps on clothing.

Believe it or not, coloring is one of the best ways to build fine motor skills. At the pre-K age, make sure to use fat crayons instead of the skinny ones. It will help her get a better grip. In my class, we use broken crayon stubs for the kids who still want to hold the crayon in their fist. The stubs are so small that they have to hold them with their fingers. Later, they can graduate to whole fat crayons or fat pencils. Have her trace lines and simple shapes with crayons in addition to coloring pictures.

You can also look for toys with dials to turn or buttons to push. Also, when she needs a package opened, just tear it a little and let her do the rest. Unwrapping candy with twisted ends is also good practice.

Tearing newspaper into strips is good work for the fingers. If she's not already cutting with scissors, you can start her out on small kid's scissors. Have her snip straws into pieces or do single snips on thick paper (like a manilla folder). The thick paper is easier to hold and makes her work a little harder to snip it which is good for hand strength.

I hope these suggestions are helpful!

 

[Momma2dakidz]

All the ideas above are excellent, you can also have her write on sandpaper with stubby crayons. Practicing letters and shapes in shaving cream and sand is fun. (use an old cookie tray with sides for easy clean up. Lacing cards can be made out of cardboard and a hole punch. (make a yarn needle out of packaging tape). Tiny stickers placed in tiny squares is another idea. stamps and bingo daubers are a staple in most classes. Light brites with tight fitting pegs is a great christmas idea. Popbeads if you can find them are even better for little "princesses".
If you want more ideas, more specific to your daughter feel free to pm me and i will be more than happy to help.
becky

ps cooking is a great way to build fine motor skills. (pouring, stirring, cracking eggs ect)

 

[twinsplusone]

Our son had the same issues with fine motor skills. He did all of the things LuvBunnies suggested. He loved the chopsticks. He's in Sr. K right now and he's like a different kid.

 

[ammeador2]

Great ideas. Thank you all very much. I was kind of upset when we were told this, I felt like I didn't do something right. I suppose that we were so worried with her being able to recognize shapes, colors, letters and numbers, etc that I didn't think about those skils. I think that another problem she's having is she hasn't decided if she wants to be right or left handed...she's constantly going back and forth!

Thanks again for your ideas. I truly appreciate it and we start on these things tomorrow!

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

also something you might want to check with her class teacher is the shape of pencils/crayons they are using- my eldest son is dyspraxic and one thing he has to help with his fine motor skills is triangular grip pencils/pens/crayons as they encourage a tripod grip for writing. You can also buy just the grip to use on regular pencils/crayons.

 

[quasar4legs]

Try not to worry to much about the fine motor skills. My son had/has terrible fine motor skills and started univeristy at 15. To this day he has hideous hand writing and it is no longer an issue.
We spent his early school years worrying ourselves sick and today we now wonder why we ever worried. He still can't use scissors with any skill but manages to get through second year pyschology with no problems.
I think it's a great idea to try out all the fine motor suggestions but at the end of the day it's not necessarily the huge issue that some make it out to be.

Wishing your little one much happiness.

Trish

 

[glesgalass]

I think that another problem she's having is she hasn't decided if she wants to be right or left handed...she's constantly going back and forth!

Thanks again for your ideas. I truly appreciate it and we start on these things tomorrow!

This is exactly what I was going to ask. My younger DS also had some problems with fine motor skills compared to other children of his age at Nursery (about aged 4), his problem was that he could not decide which hand he used. Now though he's fine. His handwriting (left) looks as if a spider crawled over the page, but apart from that he's completely fine. Incidentally, he's ended up ambidextrous. Writes left, eats left, plays Wii and DS right handed does up his clothes right handed can colour with both, and leads with his left for running etc., but kicks a football with his right!

 

[Mkrop]

Great ideas. Thank you all very much. I was kind of upset when we were told this, I felt like I didn't do something right. I suppose that we were so worried with her being able to recognize shapes, colors, letters and numbers, etc that I didn't think about those skils. I think that another problem she's having is she hasn't decided if she wants to be right or left handed...she's constantly going back and forth!

Thanks again for your ideas. I truly appreciate it and we start on these things tomorrow!

Not your fault, your DD may have a real problem, if not she may catch up. My DS5 has hypotonia and this affect his fine motor skills, he receives Occupational Therapy for this once a week. For him it is a legitamite medical issue. He also did not have a hand dominance until he was a little over 3.

With that said, I talked to one teacher (3rd grade) who is disappointed that so many preschools are getting away from fine motor skills development, so many just focus in on the academics and by the time she gets them, and is trying to teach them cursive, it is a real challenge.

Luv Bunnies gave great activities, all of which we did through his therapy. One other simple one is getting a coffee can with the kid and cutting a small slit into it and having her put pennies into the slot. Good pincher control and strength to get the penny through.

 

[Drewsmommybear]

I have a few ideas to add to the already great ones. Sewing cards (where you lace a string through holes) are always fun and the work fine motor coordination. Also, try giving her fun hole punches and having her go to work on some paper. I also have some of my students who have difficulty with FM use Bingo dabbers to make pictures.

I think the fact that you are looking for ways to help your dauther is the biggest step in the right direction. Most importantly, make sure you encourage her and find activities that are fun.

 

[HeatherC]

Don't worry over this. Really...it is so common with kids. Some children are more action oriented...meaning they prefer to run and jump over doing fine motor activities.

One thing my kids liked to do was string Fruit Loops cereal for necklaces and bracelets and then eat them!

Good luck to you!

 

[ammeador2]

I went out today and bought some beads and some leather sting, and some stickers and construction paper, scissors etc so we can get to work on this. And I also found some triangle crayola crayons and markers. I was so excited. I will give this a whirl and see how it goes. She does a good job putting monies in her piggy bank... Hopefully we will continue to go forward.

Thank you all for your great ideas. I truly appreciate it!

 

[tchrrx]

Buy her a Lite-Brite for Christmas. It is great for fine motor skills and it's a lot of fun too!

Also, those little plastic beads that you put onto a pegboard & then melt together would be good for her too.