In the few remaining weeks before school’s exams begins, it is a good time to polish those fine motor skills. There are many ways to work on these skills, which are fundamentally important in learning how to write legibly. Fine motor skills are important in handwriting, keyboarding, and a multitude of vocational studies. Children with learning disabilities in basic writing can benefit from activities and games that develop fine motor skills. Here are some tips from online paper writing service McEssay and activities to get you going:
- Teach your child finger spelling.Finger spelling can be used by hearing and non-hearing students as a way to reinforce
- Make hand shadows with this free hand shadows booklet from Project Gutenberg.
For even more fun with language skills, use hand shadows to act out your child’s favorite stories. Have fun acting out stories from your child’s favorite books using hand shadows or finger puppets. Explore new story books recommended for your child’s age. - Teach your child basic handwriting skills with a multi-sensory tactile writing tray.
For example, multi-sensory teaching methods, such as the tactile writing tray, are wonderful ways to teach preschoolers and young school children to write, spell, learn shapes, and more. This recipe makes it easy for an adult to make tactile writing trays for use at home or in classrooms.
Here’s How:
- Measure and pour one cup or corn meal into an air-tight container.
- Measure and pour one half cup of table salt into the container.
- Immediately before each use, shake well.
- Pour enough mixture into a baking tray or inside an inverted shoe-box lid to cover the bottom.
- Have the child draw letters in the tray.
- When finished, place the mixture back into the airtight container.
Tips:
- Have children wash their hands before and after using the tactile trays. As with any similar material, do not allow children to place materials in their mouths or near their faces.
- For a colorful mix, add a few drops of food coloring to the cornmeal before mixing it with the salt. Mix the food coloring and cornmeal well, tossing gently until all bits are colored. Spread the meal on a tray to dry. When completely dry, mix with the salt.
- You may keep the mix for several days, but freeze it for long-term storage.
- For classroom use, make larger amounts of mix using one part salt to two parts corn meal. Check the mix between uses in class to ensure freshness and cleanliness. Make new batches as needed.
What You Need:
- 1 Cup of coarsely ground cornmeal
- 1/2 Cup of table salt
- 1 Rectangular baking tray or sturdy shoe-box lid
- 1 Air-tight container
Many typical toys and games help develop fine motor skills such as Jenga (a block tower building game), checkers, puzzles, playing cards are just a few. For older kids, try computer activities that embed fine motor skills.
