Tagged with 'Fine Motor'

Fine Motor Scavenger Hunt

There is one tool always on you: your hands! Let’s see what your kids can find that requires them to move their hands. Scavenger hunts are a great way for kids to practice problem solving and learn the value of teamwork. This hunt is great for fine motor development and building recognition of what requires hand coordination. Don’t forget this is just for fun and it’s ok if you can’t find everything!

Fine motor skills are critical to a preschooler’s development. Like any skill, such as playing the piano or dribbling a basketball, practice is essential to success.

When preschool teachers mention fine motor skills, they are referring to the muscles in the hand that are used to manipulate small objects. Fine motor and hand eye coordination are typically parallel skills; most fine motor tasks require refined hand eye coordination. Hand eye coordination refers to the communication that happens between the hands and the eyes in order to accomplish a task.

We use fine motor skills in our everyday lives. Examples include: tying shoes (looping shoelaces through each other), getting dressed (buttons and zippers), eating dinner (using a fork or knife), and brushing teeth (squeezing toothpaste and brushing). In addition, kids will undoubtedly use fine motor skills at school as they write, color, cut, glue, and paint.

Not only is it important to develop fine motor skills for physical growth, but also to build confidence. The more children practice these skills, the more confident they will become. Mastering the coordination of putting on a winter coat, zipping, and buttoning it will make kids excited to go outside. Delaying practicing fine motor skills may have an adverse effect - a student who hasn’t learned to hold and move a pencil properly may make them frustrated during a writing lesson, or could lead to avoiding the task altogether.

While there are plenty of ways to practice fine motor skills around the house, children can also learn through playing with any of these Learning Resources products:

Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog

Max the Fine Motor Moose

Smart Snacks Alpha Pops

Sand and Water Fine Motor Tool Set

Hoot the Fine Motor Owl

I want everyone to meet one of our favorite toys at the moment, Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog!

Strong fine motor skills are one of the first things you can encourage with your little one! Did you know that babies as young as 4-6 months are already working to develop these skills? I am constantly on the lookout for activities and fine motor skills toys that encourage my daughters to strengthen their little muscles and improve their coordination.

Although he may appear simplistic at first glance, I’ve found a ton of ways to incorporate him into learning activities for both my 3 and 5 year old girls. Spike has frequently helped us learn about counting, sorting, and color identification.

My youngest daughter enjoys simply placing and removing the chunky, peg-shaped quills. We’ve also begun to work on finishing color patterns as well. My oldest daughter loves practicing counting and matching the quills to a number I call out.

You can also have your child sort the quills into color groups, practice sequencing and patterns by color, or use the numbers printed on Spike’s back to identify the amount of quills they have added to him.

Once you are done playing with him, simply pop the top of his back off and place all of his quills inside! This makes him a wonderful “travel toy” that can be taken on the go without fear of losing his pieces.

I also love that Spike and his quills are made of easy-to-clean plastic. You can just wipe him down whenever need be! We can’t say enough wonderful things about this fun and engaging toy. I’m sure your family will enjoy Spike as much as we do!

Spike is up for a Toy of the Year Award on the Toddler category! Please vote for him here!

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