Motor development is often split into fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Fine motor skill activities are all about developing those tiny muscles in the hands, fingers and wrist that are needed for important tasks such as learning to write, doing up buttons and using a knife and fork. Gross motor skill activities, on the other hand, are for developing the larger, core muscles through jumping, climbing, etc. Gross motor skills are also vital for learning to write, as a child needs to be able to have postural control (stability of their core muscles) to sit comfortably and write effectively.
There are many wonderful activities you can do with babies, toddlers and young children to help develop fine and gross motor skills through play. I’ll go out on a limb and say that, in my opinion, play is the best way of developing motor skills in young children.
Here are two play-based activities that develop motor skills:
PASTA TOWERS
Suitable for: toddlers and pre-schoolers
A simple yet addictive activity that helps children develop fine motor skills and concentration by carefully constructing a pasta tower.
Please note: this activity can pose a choking risk with the uncooked pasta – please risk-assess yourself.
Equipment
- Playdough or sticky tack, uncooked spaghetti and pasta tubes.
How to
- Put a small amount of playdough on a table and then stick a piece of spaghetti upright into it so that it stands up by itself on the table.
- Encourage the child to ‘thread’ the pasta tubes onto the spaghetti until they reach the top, counting as they go – how many can they pile up?
- Children could race against you or a friend to see how quickly they can put the tubes onto the spaghetti to reach the top without snapping the spaghetti in the process.
Alternatives
- If you don’t have any pasta tubes available, use plastic beads instead of pasta tubes to thread onto the spaghetti, or introduce some threading activities.
Extension activity
- Use coloured pasta (you can colour it yourself using paint, or buying different coloured ones) and encourage children to make patterns as they thread them onto the spaghetti.
Skills developed
- Numeracy.
- Concentration.
- Problem-solving.
- Motor skills.
HIDE IT IN THE EGG BOX
Suitable for: babies and toddlers
Egg boxes are surprisingly fiddly to open, making them the perfect resource for developing those fine motor skills! Babies and toddlers love repetition, and this fun game of hiding and finding things inside an egg box will not only help develop important skills but also create a few giggles on the way.
Equipment
- Clean egg box, collection of baby-safe objects to hide inside it (these could be a piece of fabric, ball or a small rattle).
How to
- Choose a baby-safe object to hide within the egg box.
- Show the child the egg box and open it to reveal what is inside, before closing it again.
- Pass them the egg box to explore, supporting them (if needed) to open and close it.
- Use lots of praise and ask questions like ‘where is the ball?’. And exclaim ‘here is the ball’ when they find it.
- Encourage them to try and hide the objects inside it too for you to ‘find’.
Alternatives
- Egg boxes are great because of the fiddly opening that makes them brilliant for developing fine motor skills, but any box that closes would do the job. You could try jewellery boxes with a catch or a simple wooden box with a lid that lifts off.
Extension activity
- You can make this activity even more tricky and exciting by hiding the egg box inside another box. Adding an extra level of difficulty! It’s a bit like Russian dolls. Can they openthe box and then the egg box to find the toy?
Skills developed
- Concentration.
- Language and communication.
- Problem-solving.
- Motor skills.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
- This is an article in an eight-part series on practical ways to support the development of essential skills in children from birth to five, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
- Georgina Durrant is author of 100 Ways Your Child Can Learn Through Play, a book of play-based activities that help develop important skills for children with SEN. She is a former teacher/SENDCO, private tutor and founder of The SEN Resources Blog: www.sen resourcesblog.com. Twitter: @senresourceblog Facebook: @senresourcesblog