| Developing fine motor skills helps your children | | | | squeeze and pinch it. |
| become ready for school. They need strength in their | | | | 4. Crumpling or tearing paper - try different types like |
| fingers, hands, shoulders, arms and core to become | | | | tissue, newspaper, paper towel, junk mail, coffee |
| efficient and skilful at printing, painting etc. | | | | filters etc. |
| Any time your children are using pencils, crayons, | | | | 5. Try some card games like snap or fish or build card |
| scissors, paint brushes or playing with play dough, | | | | houses. |
| they are developing their fine motor skills. | | | | 6. During bath time give your child things that must |
| Sometimes, watch what they are doing and make | | | | be squeezed like salad dressing or detergent bottles, |
| suggestions on how to hold the pencil or crayon | | | | turkey basters or sponges. |
| correctly or better yet, colour or draw along side of | | | | 7. Have your child do some hand-washing at the |
| them so they begin to copy you. | | | | kitchen sink. Maybe doll clothes or rags and then have |
| Some games you could do at home include: | | | | her squeeze out the items before hanging them to |
| 1. Give your child your kitchen tongs and a bowl filled | | | | dry. |
| with cotton balls. Place another bowl beside it and | | | | 8. Look for board games that use the pointer finger |
| have your child move the cotton balls, using the | | | | and thumb to move the markers around a board. Or |
| tongs to move the cotton balls from one bowl to | | | | try pick-up sticks. |
| the other. | | | | 9. Make sure you have interlocking block sets for |
| 2. Use play dough. Have your child roll snakes and | | | | your child. |
| balls and introduce some tolls such as knives, potato | | | | 10.Make a trip to the dollar store for wind-up toys. |
| ricer, cookie cutters for her to experiment with. | | | | Let your child wind them up. |
| 3. Give her some bubble wrap and get her to | | | | |