Dear Melissa,
My son will be starting kindergarten next fall. Do you have any suggestions on getting his fine motor skills ready for this transition?
Good for you for thinking about this a year ahead of time! There are many, many areas that need to be addressed before the big day: social skills, emotional skills, self-care skills, gross motor skills, etc. As an occupational therapist, it is my job to assess and address ALL of these areas to prepare a little guy to enter kindergarten. For the simplicity of this blog, I will focus on the fine motor and pre-writing skills needed for kindergarten. There are ways to improve fine motor skills in fun and creative ways which will help ensure that you get little hands ready for all of the writing tasks that school will demand.
Fine Motor Fun
There are so many fun ways to improve fine motor skills at home. The key is to make them a part of fun games rather than a chore of sitting down and “exercising.” Some of my favorites include water guns/water squirters, using tongs as “chopsticks”, Playdoh, clay, Legos, blocks, marble games, coloring, puzzles, stringing beads, lacing boards, tearing/crumpling paper, and helping in the kitchen…the list goes on and on!
Write, Write, Write
Again, try as much as possible to make this fun rather than a “chore.” If a child loves using a pencil and paper, that’s great! But that is not the only way to work on fine motor skills. Try to have many different mediums available to help develop pre-writing patterns: sidewalk chalk, chalkboards, crayons, markers, dry erase boards, paint brushes, bath crayons, etc. This is the perfect time to go to the art or office supply section of your favorite store and just explore!
Don’t Forget Cutting
Kiddos need to be able to use scissors well in kindergarten. They need to be able to position them correctly in their dominant hand and cut away from their helper hand. Not ready for this yet? Start with play-doh scissors and play-doh, then move to safety scissors and paper. Thicker construction paper is easier than standard typing paper. Start simply by snipping paper. Then move to cutting on thicker lines and finally to thinner and thinner lines.
The Diagonal Line Milestone
How do you know if your child is ready to write? See what shapes he can copy. First, start with horizontal and vertical lines, then a circle, then a plus, then an X. Here’s a little-known fact in child development: children don’t develop the ability to replicate diagonal lines until they are approximately 4 to 4 ½ years old. Making a child write before they meet this developmental milestone can be quite frustrating for the caregiver, teacher and the child. How do you know if your child has reached this milestone? Use the quick test below.
Quick Test for Writing Readiness
Draw an X and have the child copy it. If the child draws a +, then the child isn’t ready yet. You can help your child develop this skill by using various writing tools to trace diagonal lines and Xs, both large and small. You can also start having your child trace upper-case letters (these are generally easier to form than lower-case letters). Is Kindergarten a few months away, and your child still hasn’t developed the diagonal lines yet? Don’t panic! For most names, it tends to be easiest to learn to write the letters in upper-case letters, but don’t forget to consult your OT or preschool teacher for advice on this.
Forming Letters
Most importantly, DO NOT let your child make up his own methods of letter formation! As a rule, every letter starts at the top. Give him starting dots with tracing to facilitate proper letter formation. If the child starts the bad habit of random letter formations in the beginning, it will create much more work to relearn letter formations in the future. Proper letter formation is crucial to developing quick, legible writing in the long run. Here is a helpful Handwriting Without Tears Letter Formation Chart.
What are your favorite tips for improving fine motor skills for preschoolers?
How did you help your child learn to write?
Also, if you have a question you would like me to address in my Weekly Blog,
send it to share@ChildrensTherapyTEAM.com
Resources:
Arkansas Department of Education Kindergarten Readiness Indicators
National Center for Learning Disabilities Inc. Readiness Checklist