Fine Motor Fun for 2-3 Year Olds: Fine motor skills are the grasping and manipulating of objects your child does, in coordination with their eyes. There are many ways to help develop these skills that are fun and inexpensive. Getting Ready for Scissors: Practice with spray bottles, clothes pins, salad tongs, and tweezers to develop the ‘open-shut’ hand movements needed for scissors. For a good sensory experience, help your child use the tongs to puck up objects out of sand, snow, water, rice, etc. Open Sesame: Encourage your child to begin opening bottles and doorknobs, or to play with toys that require twisting. Put goodies or toys in a jar, and let your child undo the lids to get to the prize. These types of activities help develop wrist rotation. Little Painter: At this age, your child can imitate and create lines and circles. Tape paper to a vertical surface to create proper grasp and hand movements. For a good sensory experience, use hands and fingers in finger paint, pudding, or play dough. This will help your child learn the motor patterns used for drawing and writing. Puzzles: Your child can being completing 4- 5 piece puzzles. If your child has a favorite picture, paste it onto heavy cardboard, and then cut it into simple shapes. Puzzles are a great way to help your child develop coordination of visual and motor skills. Kitchen Helper: Your child may love to imitate your actions. When you are busy making dinner or baking, let your child pretend they are working too. Give them simple tools to play with, and that will increase their hand dexterity and strength at the same time. For example, let your child stir water in a bowl with a spatula, use a garlic press with play dough, wipe the tables with a washcloth, play and make drawings in salt on a cookie tray, or scrub vegetables with a cloth or brush. These activities will strength fine motor abilities, and give your child new sensory experiences.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:58:41 +0000
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