Developing Fine Motor Skills Through Play Instead of Using Paper and Pencil

Often times I see families so set on getting workbooks for their littles, and although parents’ may be well intentioned, you’re talking to a woman who ended a school tour early because multiple classrooms had cookie-cutter coloring pages on display as “artwork.”  No, no, no, and absolutely not. To be clear, I’m not saying small children shouldn’t ever use pencils, crayons, and markers, but this shouldn’t constitute the bulk of their “learning.”  “So how do I develop their fine motor skills so they can later successfully maneuver a pencil,” you ask?  PlayDoh, lacing beads, and other small manipulatives that will simultaneously work other skills.  This absolutely doesn’t feel like learning, but in my opinion, that make the activity even better. And before you go out and click “checkout” on your Amazon cart, please know that you don’t have to spend a ton of money.  @Mothercould has an excellent recipe for playDoh that smells like you could eat it (actually, I’m pretty sure you can), and @BusyToddler is a genius at using things you already have at home to create fun activities.  String and Cheerios or Fruit Loops work great to create pattern necklaces and work fine motor skills. And if you’ve never tried pouring different kinds of beans out onto a flat dish with sides, and giving your child a clothes pin, you’re missing out on at least 20-40 minutes of what I like to call “supervised play.”  You need to be around to make sure they don’t eat the beans or stuff them up their nose, but it’s a rare activity that even small children can do pretty independently, which means you FINALLY get to sit for a minute or 5, and that’s priceless (click on link to see video).