Fine motor skills are those which include coordination of the fingers or toes. For example your toddler picking something up from the ground or wiggling his toes. Fine motor skills need to be developed so that your child will not have problems with buttoning his own shirt or tying his shoe laces. The earlier your toddler develops these life skills, the better.
Perfection of these motor skills is an important milestone in your toddlers life. Here are some activities to help him get there:
Activity no.1
What is needed:
4 egg carton(preferably painted different colours)
Coloured cotton balls
Why :
To develop fine motor skills
Tell your toddler to sort the coloured cotton balls into the specific coloured egg carton or coloured tray. The picking up and placing of the cotton ball helps his fine motor skills. The colour matching also helps him learn about colours!
Activity no. 2
What is needed:
A large sized strainer
Some wool and ribbons
Why:
To develop fine motor skills
This activity will help a child keep busy with the endless holes in the strainer, as well as practice her fine motor skills.
The activity is very simple. Through the holes in the strainer the child will thread the wool or ribbons or whatever other material he has. He can use his imagination and maybe colour co-ordinate it or knot two together( a fun way to practice how to tie a knot as well).
Other activities that help fine motor skills:
- Pour some flour into a tray and let your child draw in the flour.
- A great way to get your toddler to help you put his toys away is by giving him a pair of tongs and telling him to use those to pick his toys up and put it in the toy box. Its engaging, helps fine motor skills and makes your job easier.
- Get some plastic cups and help your toddler stack them in different pyramid formations.
- Get the children to use tweezers or clothespins to sort out various sized things from buttons to cotton balls.