Weekly tennis time

Fine motor skills are the small movements done with the fingers, hands, and wrists. These skills are developed through practicing certain activities such as coloring and cutting with scissors. Young children do not have the strength to manipulate such small tools as scissors and writing utensils . Mastering fine motor skills takes practice and patience.

In the Makeovers Home Preschool Curriculum, there are many different types of activities to work with your child on his/her fine motor dexterity.

Fine motor skills are shaped by using building blocks and nesting cups to build all kinds of imaginative structures like cities, castles, bridges, malls , etc. Children are natural builders. Blocks bring all of their marvelous creations to life. Also, using blocks as part of dramatic play along other toys increases children's ability to use their resources. For example, when building a city, blocks make excellent walls for buildings and to mark off the city limits.

Building a skyscraper

Puzzles are the beginning tools of solving life's mysteries. When children put puzzles together, they see how different pieces come together to complete a picture. Puzzles are excellent tools for teaching patience and understanding of solving the big picture. Children like to solve puzzles as early as 18 months and getting more abstract as their minds develop.

Cutting and pasting is something that should be practiced often. Whether done as an art project or as reinforcement of a lesson, it helps develop a necessary form of manual dexterity.

Beading & lacing takes some practice to master for little fingers. These manipulatives teach children how to handle small objects. Beading and lacing are the beginning blocks for many fine motor skills like buttoning, zipping, and snapping. Teaching a child to grasp little objects is a lifelong skill in manual work. Patience is key.

Gross motor skills refers to the use of the large muscles in our bodies. Infants develop gross motor skills by holding up their heads and sitting in an upright position, crawling, standing, and eventually walking.

Rock climbing

As infants grow into toddlers they begin to experiment with their new independence by jumping, climbing, running, galloping, and swinging.

As toddlers develop into preschoolers, practicing gross motor skills becomes a part of their daily routine.

Encouraging children to spend time outside even in the winter time when the temperature permits is a great way to get some fresh air and practice gross motor play.

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