As a pre-school teacher I provide educational toys and activities everyday to strengthen and encourage my student’s fine motor development. Their little hands develop so much over the course of a year– strength, coordination, control, dexterity, bi-lateral integration (both hands working together) and finger isolation. The educational toys and activities I provide are all based around fun and enjoyment. It’s really just a bonus that they are all so great for their fine motor development.
My Teacher's Top 10 Toys and activities aren’t rated from 10 to 1. They are all of equal value and compliment each other. The best thing about them is that they are extremely easy to set up at home and are a lot of fun for the whole family. So without further ado, here’s my Teacher’s Top 10.
1. Threading Toys - Beads, Lacing, Sewing
Children practice:
- Eye hand coordination
- Finger control and dexterity
- Pincer grasp to hold string and small beads (using index finger and thumb to pick up or hold objects). This grasp assists with the development of an efficient pencil grasp- the tripod grasp.
- Bilateral Integration– using both hands together to coordinate the string and bead (threading) or the fabric/card and thread (sewing/lacing)
2. Drawing
Children practice:
- Skills using crayons, pastel, pencils, markers, charcoal, pens, etc. Thicker widths are easy for younger children with limited drawing experience. Thinner widths are a little harder and suit older children with more experience. Chunky crayons are perfect for older babies and toddlers.
- Pencil grasp- progression through different grasps to finally achieving the most efficient and mature grasp, the tripod grasp.
- Control and coordination of fingers and of drawing tool
3. Play Dough and Clay
Children practice:
- Strengthening their hands by squeezing, breaking, molding, pounding
- Control of the small muscles in the hands
- Finger coordination and the ability to isolate the movement of each finger
- Strengthening their arms and assists with shoulder stability (important for all fine motor activity)
- Twisting movements of the wrist when molding or breaking play dough/clay
Children practice:
- Manipulating pieces to fit into holes- twisting, flipping, turning
- Finger coordination and the ability to isolate the movement of each finger to join interlocking pieces
- Eye-hand coordination
Children practice:
- Holding a rod like tool and having to control it. Even though a brush should be held in the same way as a pencil (tripod grasp), the sensation of using a brush is different. This is because the paint/glue will feel different as it is applied to a surface and the technique for application is also different
- All sorts of hand application techniques such as stroking, dabbing, flicking, twisting, twirling, etc
- Eye hand coordination
- Control and dexterity of small muscle groups in the hand
- Manipulating small objects to snap together, pull apart or balance
- Strengthening fingers
- Eye-hand coordination
- Bilateral integration
Children practice:
- Motor planning- having to plan movements mentally to achieve an outcome ie. Picking up paste brush, applying paste to back of collage piece, turning the piece over, finding best place to stick it, pressing it down onto the paper.
- Eye- hand coordination
- Control, coordination and dexterity of fingers and hands
- If sticky tape is used, the dispenser is great for employing delicate finger movements so the tape doesn’t stick together when handled
- Bilateral integration to dispense, hold and stick tape in the appropriate place or to use paste and paste pot together.
8. Scissors
Children practice:
- Open and close motion of the hand
- Steering the scissors
- Bilateral integration- the ability to coordinate both sides of the body to work together. In this case coordinating the cutting hand and paper grasping hand
- Finger coordination and the ability to isolate the movement of each finger
- Eye hand coordination
- Motor planning- having to mentally plan movements to achieve an outcome
- Strengthening the hands
9. Finger Painting
Children practice:
- Gaining sensory feedback and responding physically to what they are feeling
- Using the whole body to move the paint (if they are standing up). Great for upper body and arm strength which in turn benefits their fine motor skills
- Finger work- isolating finger movements
- Bilateral integration if both hands are used to paint
Children practice:
- Gaining sensory feedback from the vibration of the hammering and using this to control the force employed
- Eye-hand coordination
- Arm and wrist strength that support fine motor activity
- If tacks or nails are being used, eye hand coordination to place tacks in the right spot and bilateral integration to hold tack and hammer carefully at the same time
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| Peg Hammering Bench |
So, would it be breaking the rules to add one more activity? It probably would, but let’s go for it anyway! Lucky last…
11. Peg Boards
Children practice:
- Pincer grasp (using index finger and thumb to pick up objects)
- Eye-hand coordination
- Isolating movements of the fingers
- Control and coordination of the muscle groups in the fingers and hands
Happy playing,
Emma Butler
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