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Easy Preschool Fine Motor ActivitiesImprove Small Muscle Coordination in Preschoolers
Fine motor skills are crucial for later academic success. These simple and inexpensive activities allow preschoolers to practice important fine motor skills each day.
Retail stores sell many toys and games to improve fine motor coordination in preschool aged children. Purchasing expensive toys is not necessary to provide a preschooler opportunities to build fine motor skills. Use of common household items is a convenient inexpensive way to provide preschoolers with fine motor activities. Use sorting, writing, painting, cooking and lacing activities to teach fine motor coordination. Sorting ActivitiesUse hands and fingers to sort small items. Many opportunities to sort occur in daily home life. Demonstrate how to sort forks, knives, and spoons during mealtime clean-up. Allow the preschooler to sort the silverware into the dishwasher basket. While picking up toys, teach him to sort small toys into containers by color, use or type. During the time adults spend on paperwork, provide pencils, crayons and markers that are easy for a preschooler to sort. Allow him to make piles by color or type. Utilizing the fingers, especially using a pincher grasp builds the muscles necessary for writing. WritingGather a variety of writing utensils including pens, pencils, chalk, markers and crayons. Find interesting items on which to write. Some examples of this could include black paper, sand paper, a chalkboard and even aluminum foil. Allow the preschooler to scribble, draw or write as her abilities allow. As her fine motor and literacy skills grow, she will progress from scribbling to writing recognizable characters. CookingTime spent cooking offers many opportunities to work on fine motor skills. Measuring dry ingredients with measuring spoons exercises the small muscles of the hands and fingers. Mixing dough using hands or spoons is another way to work the hand and fingers. Even decorating cookies using chocolate chips or small candies is a good fine motor activity. PaintingPreschoolers love painting of any type. Don't limit the activity of painting to the use of a paintbrush and traditional paints. Use finger painting as a fun alternative. For younger preschoolers, use pudding to "paint" on a cookie sheet or plastic tray. Use sidewalk paints to decorate the driveway. Preschoolers enjoy the variety and their fine motor skills will benefit from any of these activities. LacingUse a cord, shoelace or yarn and some cardboard to make a simple lacing activity. Cut out shapes, such as circles, triangles and squares from a cereal box, then use a hole punch and make a pattern with the holes. A preschooler can then lace or "sew" with the shoelace. As fine motor skills improve, use smaller holes and finer yarns to make the activity more challenging. Preschoolers need fine motor skills to be independent in daily life and grow in academic areas. Simple activities such as sorting, painting, writing, lacing, and cooking supply easy ways for a preschooler to practice these fine motor skills.
The copyright of the article Easy Preschool Fine Motor Activities in Preschool is owned by Peggy Crippen. Permission to republish Easy Preschool Fine Motor Activities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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