Preschool Fine Motor Activities
Preschool fine motor activities enhance the development of the small muscles in the hands and fingers. It's important for preschool children to develop these muscles before using a pencil. Fine motor development is important for holding a pencil and forming letters correctly when they learn to print. Preschoolers should be given plenty of opportunity to practice these skills and build strength in these muscles.
Play DoughSquishing and shaping play dough is a great activity for fine motor development. Allow the children plenty of opportunity to work with play dough. Have them roll the dough into large balls between the palms of the hands. Break apart into smaller pieces and roll into smaller balls with the finger tips. Scrunch play dough into a variety of forms and shapes. Have them roll it out with their hands into snake like shapes. These activities build all the muscles of the hand.
Provide a variety of implements for children to use with the play dough. Small wooden dowels can be used as rolling pins to roll the play dough. These can be purchased at hardware stores or home centers. Give the children plastic knives or scissors to cut play dough. Use a variety of implements to poke holes and make designs in the dough, such as a fork, toothpicks, pegs, pencils and wooden mallet style meat tenderizers.
Scissor ActivitiesUsing scissors works the muscles used in writing and cutting. Choosing the scissors is very important. Cheap scissors bend and rip the paper. This is frustrating to young children. Get good scissors with blunt tips for young children. Consider buying one pair to try before supplying the classroom. Teach children to hold the scissors properly. The thumb and middle finger go through the handles with the rest of the fingers gently curled inward. The thumb should be facing up. Training scissors with four finger holes are available for children needing extra help. The inside two holes are for the child's fingers and the outer two holes for the teacher's.
Start by allowing the children to cut random shapes from junk mail or construction paper scraps. They shouldn't try to make anything, but just get the hang of cutting paper. They can also try cutting a fringe into the edge of a piece of paper. Other random cutting ideas include cutting straws, ribbon or wall paper sample books. Sample books with discontinued patterns are available through most stores that sell wall coverings. Since the stores throw them away, they will be happy to give them to you.
Once the children get good at handling the scissors and cutting, they are ready to cut on lines. Draw straight lines with a black marker on white paper. Let them cut on the line. Then, move on to zig zag lines and then simple shapes. When they are ready to cut out pictures, give them old magazines or catalogs. Let them cut out pictures and glue on colored paper to make a collage.
Bead ActivitiesStringing and sorting beads are good activities for building fine motor skills. Colorful plastic beads can be purchased in bulk inexpensively. Look for beads with larger holes for young children. Get some fine string to use in stringing the beads. Yarn doesn't work well, because it tends to fray. This frustrates the children. Let the kids string the beads to make a necklace. They can make necklaces for themselves or as gifts for Mommy.
Sorting small beads also develops fine motor skills. Get a variety of bead colors and small plastic cups. Glue a different colored bead on the outside of each cup. Let the kids use tweezers to pick up and sort the beads. They pick up a bead with the tweezers and put it in the cup with the corresponding color.
Preschool fine motor activities enhance the development of the small muscles in the hands and fingers. It's important for preschool children to develop these muscles before using a pencil. Fine motor development is important for holding a pencil and forming letters correctly when they learn to print. Preschoolers should be given plenty of opportunity to practice these skills and build strength in these muscles.
Play DoughSquishing and shaping play dough is a great activity for fine motor development. Allow the children plenty of opportunity to work with play dough. Have them roll the dough into large balls between the palms of the hands. Break apart into smaller pieces and roll into smaller balls with the finger tips. Scrunch play dough into a variety of forms and shapes. Have them roll it out with their hands into snake like shapes. These activities build all the muscles of the hand.
Provide a variety of implements for children to use with the play dough. Small wooden dowels can be used as rolling pins to roll the play dough. These can be purchased at hardware stores or home centers. Give the children plastic knives or scissors to cut play dough. Use a variety of implements to poke holes and make designs in the dough, such as a fork, toothpicks, pegs, pencils and wooden mallet style meat tenderizers.
Scissor ActivitiesUsing scissors works the muscles used in writing and cutting. Choosing the scissors is very important. Cheap scissors bend and rip the paper. This is frustrating to young children. Get good scissors with blunt tips for young children. Consider buying one pair to try before supplying the classroom. Teach children to hold the scissors properly. The thumb and middle finger go through the handles with the rest of the fingers gently curled inward. The thumb should be facing up. Training scissors with four finger holes are available for children needing extra help. The inside two holes are for the child's fingers and the outer two holes for the teacher's.
Start by allowing the children to cut random shapes from junk mail or construction paper scraps. They shouldn't try to make anything, but just get the hang of cutting paper. They can also try cutting a fringe into the edge of a piece of paper. Other random cutting ideas include cutting straws, ribbon or wall paper sample books. Sample books with discontinued patterns are available through most stores that sell wall coverings. Since the stores throw them away, they will be happy to give them to you.
Once the children get good at handling the scissors and cutting, they are ready to cut on lines. Draw straight lines with a black marker on white paper. Let them cut on the line. Then, move on to zig zag lines and then simple shapes. When they are ready to cut out pictures, give them old magazines or catalogs. Let them cut out pictures and glue on colored paper to make a collage.
Bead ActivitiesStringing and sorting beads are good activities for building fine motor skills. Colorful plastic beads can be purchased in bulk inexpensively. Look for beads with larger holes for young children. Get some fine string to use in stringing the beads. Yarn doesn't work well, because it tends to fray. This frustrates the children. Let the kids string the beads to make a necklace. They can make necklaces for themselves or as gifts for Mommy.
Sorting small beads also develops fine motor skills. Get a variety of bead colors and small plastic cups. Glue a different colored bead on the outside of each cup. Let the kids use tweezers to pick up and sort the beads. They pick up a bead with the tweezers and put it in the cup with the corresponding color.