such as glue stick, 1-hole punch, stapler, and tape, with little supervision
• Button/unbutton smaller buttons
• Snap/unsnap simple fasteners
• Use his fingers to act out fingerplays that require isolated finger movements, as in, “Where Is Thumbkin?”
• Use dynamic tripod grasp (holds tool with tips of thumb, index, and middle fingers; ring and pinky fingers bent) or quadripod grasp (holds tool with tips of thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers, with pinky bent) when using writing utensils
Quadripod grasp
Dynamic Tripod grasp
Enjoy this year of growth with your five-year-old. Help her expand her fine motor skills by doing the activities in this chapter, and watch her skills improve even further during her kindergarten year!
Geoboards
Develops your child’s finger strength, bilateral coordination,
and in-hand manipulation skills
What You Need
Geoboard—can be commercially purchased or handmade (see More Fun! below) | rubber bands with good elasticity in a variety of sizes
What to Do
• Invite your child to explore the Geoboard and rubber bands.
• Demonstrate the method of stretching a rubber band from one peg to the next. Form lines, shapes, or letters with the rubber bands.
• Encourage your child to make her own lines, shapes, or letters on the Geoboard with rubber bands.
More Fun!
• Make a Geoboard. To make a Geoboard, you will need the following: square piece of wood (approximately 5” x 5”) | sandpaper | 25 finishing nails (1”) | ruler | hammer
To make your own Geoboard, go to a building supply store and ask someone to cut a square piece of wood. Sand the edges until smooth. Use a hammer to insert 25 finishing nails into the wood in an evenly spaced pattern of five rows with five nails each 1” apart. To allow room for the rubber bands, nails should extend ½” out from the surface of the wood.
Graph Paper Art
Refines your child’s hand movements necessary for writing, develops good eye-hand coordination, and helps him use an age-appropriate grasp of writing utensil
What You Need
Large-grid (at least ¼”) graph paper (may be printed for free off the Internet) | colored pencils
What to Do
• Give your child a piece of graph paper and colored pencils.
• Encourage him to color in the squares to create “Graph Paper Art.”
More Fun!
• Form letters by coloring in squares of the graph paper. Draw a letter on the graph paper and then see if your child can copy it.
• Give him graph paper and watercolors or tempera paint and small paintbrushes with which he can explore painting squares or other shapes and designs.
Making Tracks
Develops your child’s small muscle control and improves her eye-hand coordination
What You Need
large sheets of paper | paper plates | various small toy vehicles, such as cars, trucks, vans, or construction vehicles | fingerpaint or tempera paint and markers | bowl of water | sponges or small brushes | paper towel
What to Do
• Write your child’s name on a large sheet of paper. Use bubble-type letters that are large enough to serve as a track for small vehicles.
• Pour paint onto paper plates, and put some vehicles on the table.
• Encourage your child to experiment with making tracks by rolling a vehicle through the paint and then rolling the vehicle over paper.
• Show your child her “Name Track.” Invite her to roll a vehicle through the paint and trace the letters of her name with the vehicle to “make tracks.”
• When your child begins to lose interest in the activity, give her a bowl of water and small sponges or brushes to wash off the vehicles. Set them on a paper towel to dry.
More Fun!
• Some children may be able to make their name tracks independently, without having to follow the letter outlines.
• Provide blank sheets of paper and encourage your child to make new letter tracks on her paper.
Stick Letters
Develops your child’s eye-hand coordination and helps him learn how to form letters of the
• Button/unbutton smaller buttons
• Snap/unsnap simple fasteners
• Use his fingers to act out fingerplays that require isolated finger movements, as in, “Where Is Thumbkin?”
• Use dynamic tripod grasp (holds tool with tips of thumb, index, and middle fingers; ring and pinky fingers bent) or quadripod grasp (holds tool with tips of thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers, with pinky bent) when using writing utensils
Quadripod grasp
Dynamic Tripod grasp
Enjoy this year of growth with your five-year-old. Help her expand her fine motor skills by doing the activities in this chapter, and watch her skills improve even further during her kindergarten year!
Geoboards
Develops your child’s finger strength, bilateral coordination,
and in-hand manipulation skills
What You Need
Geoboard—can be commercially purchased or handmade (see More Fun! below) | rubber bands with good elasticity in a variety of sizes
What to Do
• Invite your child to explore the Geoboard and rubber bands.
• Demonstrate the method of stretching a rubber band from one peg to the next. Form lines, shapes, or letters with the rubber bands.
• Encourage your child to make her own lines, shapes, or letters on the Geoboard with rubber bands.
More Fun!
• Make a Geoboard. To make a Geoboard, you will need the following: square piece of wood (approximately 5” x 5”) | sandpaper | 25 finishing nails (1”) | ruler | hammer
To make your own Geoboard, go to a building supply store and ask someone to cut a square piece of wood. Sand the edges until smooth. Use a hammer to insert 25 finishing nails into the wood in an evenly spaced pattern of five rows with five nails each 1” apart. To allow room for the rubber bands, nails should extend ½” out from the surface of the wood.
Graph Paper Art
Refines your child’s hand movements necessary for writing, develops good eye-hand coordination, and helps him use an age-appropriate grasp of writing utensil
What You Need
Large-grid (at least ¼”) graph paper (may be printed for free off the Internet) | colored pencils
What to Do
• Give your child a piece of graph paper and colored pencils.
• Encourage him to color in the squares to create “Graph Paper Art.”
More Fun!
• Form letters by coloring in squares of the graph paper. Draw a letter on the graph paper and then see if your child can copy it.
• Give him graph paper and watercolors or tempera paint and small paintbrushes with which he can explore painting squares or other shapes and designs.
Making Tracks
Develops your child’s small muscle control and improves her eye-hand coordination
What You Need
large sheets of paper | paper plates | various small toy vehicles, such as cars, trucks, vans, or construction vehicles | fingerpaint or tempera paint and markers | bowl of water | sponges or small brushes | paper towel
What to Do
• Write your child’s name on a large sheet of paper. Use bubble-type letters that are large enough to serve as a track for small vehicles.
• Pour paint onto paper plates, and put some vehicles on the table.
• Encourage your child to experiment with making tracks by rolling a vehicle through the paint and then rolling the vehicle over paper.
• Show your child her “Name Track.” Invite her to roll a vehicle through the paint and trace the letters of her name with the vehicle to “make tracks.”
• When your child begins to lose interest in the activity, give her a bowl of water and small sponges or brushes to wash off the vehicles. Set them on a paper towel to dry.
More Fun!
• Some children may be able to make their name tracks independently, without having to follow the letter outlines.
• Provide blank sheets of paper and encourage your child to make new letter tracks on her paper.
Stick Letters
Develops your child’s eye-hand coordination and helps him learn how to form letters of the
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