Fine Motor Development for Young Children

Early education curriculum promotes the development of the whole child. Part of the whole child is fine motor skills (fingers and hands). This is important because strong fingers can be the foundation for strong writing, and confidence in learning.

I have worked with children in the education setting for over ten years. There can be limited confidence in writing because lack of practice in activities that encouraged the development of fine motor skills. Fine motor development can be an aspect of a child we easily overlook. Intentional development can help children learn to: tie their shoes, eat with utensils, write more confidently and clearly, draw, button and zip their clothes, and be more independent with self care.

Here are some ways to promote fine motor development:

• Allow toddlers to eat with their fingers: This is something that may have a cultural component. Many parents feed their children until they are four or five years old. Allowing young children to use their fingers with the "pincher grasp" can help strengthen the finger muscles. 
• Individual Self Care (taking clothes off/on, brushing teeth, combing hair, etc.): This is something that will take time and patience. Young children are learning how to care for themselves and help around the house. This can be messy, and it is a learning experience. Slowly giving children more autonomy to care for themselves, even if it's not perfect or takes more time build confidence for a task in the future. If we rush to put their clothes on (all the time), it's difficult to learn how to do it when we ask them to. 
• Drawing and coloring: It may seem like kiddos aren't learning, but making art is an essential part of developing fine motor skills. Children get to practice holding crayons and making lines on paper. It doesn't have to be perfect, and children can feel accomplished for making something.
• Play doh or goop: Sensory activities can help strengthen fingers with some feedback. The activity can calm a child, while improving fine motor skills.
• Zippers and Buttons: Young children love to help! Asking them to help with zippers and buttoning your clothes can help them feel useful and indirectly develop finger strength.
• Arts & Crafts: With your supervision, children can use their fingers to pick up beads, coins, and other small objects and string them along a thread, count them, or place them in jars.
• Tongs of eye droppers: Squeezing and holding onto objects can help improve hand resistance and patience in children. 
• Bubble wrap: When you receive mail, popping bubble wrap can be a fun and exciting way to develop fine motor skills. It will most likely lead to lots of giggles as well! 
• Turning pages & Tearing paper: Reading is essential! Asking little ones to turn the page can help improve confidence to read and fine motor skills. Tearing paper can be a great activity with junk mail, and papers that are going to be recycled. Kids can learn about helping the environment, while developing a necessary skill.
• Spray bottles and water guns: Summer is coming up, and water guns will very much help develop fine motor skills. Remind kids it's okay to take breaks if their fingers start to hurt. Sometimes little ones keep going and get blisters.
• BLOCKS: Larger blocks can help little ones start to develop fine motor skills by learning to take the blocks together and apart. Mega blocks are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. When their fine motor skills are more developed, Legos are more appropriate.

Of course, supervision is important with these activities. Using these moments as bonding experiences can also help encourage the frequency of practicing. 

5 Signs Your Child is Learning in Preschool

It's difficult parenting little ones. There are so many parts of a person to consider, and when it comes to education, some of us have specific definitions of what it looks like when a child is learning. It can be frustrating and scary when our preschooler or kindergartner isn't writing their name or speaking as fluently as their peers. Kids do develop at their own paces, and may show their learning in different ways. The tricky part of seeing the successes of early education is how diverse it can be. Here are some ways a child can show that his or her preschool is teaching them:

1. Singing songs

Preschools use lots of music and art to build a foundation for learning. Songs can be used to teach the days of the week, numbers, shapes, and how to greet others in the morning. If a child is singing in the home, take note of the songs. Singing shows that your child is retaining information, and is enjoying their time at school.

• Songs for younger kiddos having a rhythm as fast as their heartbeat makes it easier to listen to and learn. That's why nursery rhymes are slower. They can also help calm children down.

• Songs can be used to give directions at home. Singing about washing up or eating dinner can make the activity more fun, and less stressful.

• It takes a while for kids to get tired of things they love, so singing their favorite songs during non-preferred activities might help make them more enjoyable.

2. Drawing

Since verbally expressive language is not well-developed early on, children can visibly show their learning and curiosity of the world through drawing. Asking open-ended questions or making statements about objective parts of the drawing can help facilitate more language and dialogue with your little one.

Some ways to talk about drawings:

• Tell me more about this (point at part of drawing)

• I see lots of (color)

• Let's make a story about (drawing).

• What happens in the picture?

• Which part do you like most about (drawing)?

A note on drawing when children are not writing *yet*:

Drawing and coloring are part of PREWRITING. Children need fine-motor skills to write well. Their hand and finger muscles need practice to hold a pencil, and using crayons is a natural part of a strong foundation to write. If you are concerned about your child not writing yet, practice a word or a letter at home each day until they master it. Try a few times a day and remember to make it fun and casual with praise for trying. Having art supplies and paper readily available can help promote prewriting skills.

3. Nonstop talking

Kids love talking about themselves and their world. Sometimes their grammar is incorrect, and they use the wrong pronouns. That's okay. Most of the time, young children will learn over the years and correct their word choice by hearing others speak properly. If a child likes to talk about certain topics, ask questions, or just listen. Hearing what your child likes to talk about can help see what your child is learning about or interested in. 

Some ways to promote conversation at home:

• Create a routine where you and your child have 1:1 time (maybe even five or ten minutes), where you check in about the best parts of each other's days. You can model the sentences and take turns talking. It can be at the dinner table or during bath time, but making it consistent can help establish a pattern for your child to talk more.

• Have prewritten topics in a jar. Ask your child to name words to put on the cards (so they are topics he or she knows about) and have your child choose one every day to talk about. A couple sentences about the topic can go a long way to increase your child's sense of success.

• Share stories as a family. After adults are done speaking, take time to listen to your little one as well. Often we forget to wait and let children share their stories. Asking open-ended questions can help develop your child's language skills.

 A note when children are not talking:

Sometimes children don't speak for their own reasons. If you are concerned, and your child isn't speaking, or does not have a similar-sized vocabulary compared to his or her peers, consulting with your physician or a speech pathologist might help. If you are concerned with emotional or behavioral reasons for why your child is not or suddenly stopped talking, contacting a therapist may help. I love working with young children with different ways of communication. Please call me today at (949) 381-1894 to see how I can help your child find their voice, and your parenting process. 

4. New Words or Phrases

Children are sponges for information, and little scientists. It can be frustrating as a toddler not having words to communicate, so when they do start speaking, new words are like a superpower. Many times, children will start talking or wanting to learn more about the same topic over and over again. Repetition helps the brain store information into long-term memory, so talking about the same topics can help a child feel proud of mastering new information. Hearing new words or phrases that aren't used at home can also show you that your child is learning from preschool peers or teachers. 

• Children sometimes say things like, "Teacher says..." or "Miss. (name) says this..." Sharing what other people say models learning from others.

• Memorizing lines in stories also shows children are learning. If there is an emphasis on certain topics, you can explore further details by providing more books on the same topic, or expand on areas of knowledge by introducing books related to different topics.

5. Playing with Toys

A child's natural language is to play. Play helps a child make sense of the world by modeling what they see, and repeating what they see at school can give a snapshot of what information is being learned. 

How to facilitate play:

• Have diverse toys available, and rotate them so children can stay stimulated. (puzzles, stuffed animals, blocks (very important!), pretend clothes, play doh, balls, sensory toys, books...)

• Take a look around the preschool or kindergarten and ask the teachers which toys are the most popular. See if you can find an inexpensive version of popular toys for the home.

• Ask your child which toys they love at school, and create a set together for home.

• Make play dates where friends can bring toys to share.

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I offer one-time consults on early education and choosing a preschool. Please contact me to see if I can help! (949) 381-1894

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Additional Readings:

Play: Is It Important For Children? - Organized Messes

How To Work Through Toddler Tantrums - Organized Messes

8 Ways To Promote Language in Young Children - Organized Messes

Tips on Choosing a Preschool

What to ask:

• How many years has this site been open? What makes this school a better choice than others?

• What educational background does the director and staff have?

• How long have the staff members been here? (poor sites have high turnover and very young staff who lack experience)

• Is there a requirement for staff to continue education beyond the required 12 units ECE?

• What will the ratio be for my child’s class?

• What kind of curriculum should I expect for a normal day?

• What are some ways the teachers promote language, & interests in science & art?

• Do teachers play with the children or is it always free play?

• Do teachers scaffold/introduce “shy” children to social opportunities?

• How many staff members are trained in CPR and on site?

• What is the school’s policy on biting and aggression? How do teachers address this with parents?

• Do you potty train?

• What is the school’s philosophy on positive reinforcement and developmentally appropriate consequences? What are some examples? Do you implement time out? Why or why not?

• How often do teachers communicate with parents, and what are some concerns teachers immediately address with parents?

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What to look for:

What kinds of foods are offered during snack and meal time? Are there whole-grain and low sugar foods (canned fruit with or without syrup, fresh fruits and veggies offered)? Or bleached grain and high starch foods (ritz crackers and goldfish = no nutritional value) Is meal time family style? How do teachers encourage children to try new foods? Do teachers eat with the children?

What is the school’s philosophy on neutral colors in the classroom (browns, whites, woods, and plants, as natural as possible)? Look for calming colors. Too many bright colors leads to over stimulation. Imagine if you had to be there all say staring at bright red, yellow, or blue furniture & toys.

How are adults interacting with the children? Are they kneeling, at eye level to talk to the children? Or are they chatting together and on the phone. Are there adults helping the children develop language skills by talking to them and helping them solve problems with words? Is there any singing or music?

Diversity & language acquisition: Are adults facilitating language with the children? Are adults modeling polite communication, and respectful exchanges related to temper tantrums and crying? Are second-language-learners allowed to speak in their original language, or is it a full immersion program? (I was a second-language-learner forced to speak English in preschool, so language acquisition and respect for diversity matter to me.)

Look for how the kids are playing: Are there many options available, or are there “closed areas” that kids can’t play in. Are there any “loner” kids not getting any attention?

If there's an outdoor sandbox: See how clean it is. Neighborhood cats sometimes use them as litter boxes and it can be very unsanitary. Ask staff how often they rake and clean the sandbox.

Look at the library: Are there books covering many topics and cultures? Does it look like the books are being treated with respect? How clean and organized is this area? If you can see teachers during reading time, are they actually reading, or are they playing a recording. Is the teacher asking kids to participate with the book? Are kids engaged?

Look at the walls: Is there plenty of artwork on the walls, photos, and maps or sight words at the children’s eye level? Is there cultural diversity on the walls: flags and photos, or ethnic toys. Is there writing in multiple languages?

OVERALL: Does it feel like a home? Is it clean? Does it smell inviting or like cleaner? Are kids playing safely and appropriately? Do teachers look happy? If the classroom feels comfortable, it can work. 

What other questions would you ask during a preschool tour? What would you look for in an ideal preschool for your child? Please share :)

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Additional readings:

• Working Papers on Child Development | Harvard

• Does Preschool Matter? | Wired

• Literacy & Preschool | GreatSchools.org

• Waldorf Preschool | Organized Messes

• Attachment & Preschool | Education.com

• Child Development Permits | CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing

• NAEYC Standards For Early Childhood Professionals | NAEYC