Help children develop fine motor skills, or the small muscle skills related to using their fingers, thumbs and hands, with a variety of art and pre-writing activities.
Provide scrap paper and children's safety scissors. Ask children to make cuts into the edges of the paper or cut out shapes. This is not always as easy as it sounds and children may require assistance to learn how to hold scissors with their thumb and index finger. Encourage children to keep trying and offer praise when they make a cut in the paper. This activity helps develop the muscles needed to use the thumb.
Place paper and crayons on a table. Ask children to draw a picture of their family. Children may begin by holding crayons with their whole fist. As they practice and develop the muscles in their hands, they will begin holding the crayon between the index finger and thumb. Repeat this activity once a month to assess the development of fine motor skills.
Knot a piece of string or yarn. Place a bowl of buttons or large beads on the table. Have children string the buttons or beads onto the yarn or string. In addition to helping with the development of fine motor muscles, this activity also helps with hand-eye coordination.
Incorporate fine motor skill activities into each day. Change activities or supplies used to keep the activities fun and fresh.
Assist children in the development of gross motor skills, or skills and movements related to the large muscle groups found in the legs and arms, with a variety of play-related activities.
Set up an obstacle course using orange safety cones to mark each station. Direct children to run from the start line to each station to complete the gross motor activity, one station at a time.
Ask children to jump up and down at the first station. Challenge them to try jumping on one foot. This is a difficult gross motor activity for younger children because they have not yet developed good balance. Offer to hold their hands to aid in balance.
Set a large ball at the next station and have children bounce the ball. In addition to developing gross motor skills, this activity also utilizes hand-eye coordination.
Request that children skip, hop or jump to the next station to aid in the development of leg muscles. Complete the obstacle course by having children run to the finish line.
Keep gross motor activities fresh by changing movements and using different tools and equipment. Climbing on playground equipment or a low balance beam encourages the use of large motor muscles, as does walking a straight line, crawling through a tunnel or kicking a ball.