DEVELOPMENT OF FINE MOTOR SKILLS IN CHILDREN

Parents & teachers of elementary school children often complain about the handwriting and how sloppy their notebooks are. It seems to adults that kids are not diligent in their writing, and that causes bad handwriting. 

But the reason for poor handwriting is not always the lack of effort on the part of a kid. Specialists believe that it is the low level of development of fine motor skills in children at an early age that causes sloppy writing in the future. That is why it is recommended to train these skills from childhood.

Development of fine motor skills in young age

Early childhood is not only a fun and carefree period, but also a good time for improving kids' skills. Even before they approach senior preschool age and begin to prepare for school, they need to acquire knowledge and skills, without which the educational process is impossible.

Parents understand this, and therefore try in every way to develop the abilities of their children: they study colors and shapes of objects, give an idea of spatial orientation, develop oral speech. But in addition to all of this, you also need to pay attention to the development of fine motor skills in young age.

It is the level of motor development that determines how quickly a preschooler will learn to use cutlery and writing utensils, be able to dress themselves, push buttons and tie laces on their shoes. In order preschoolers could successfully cope with these and other tasks, they need to practice regularly, improving mobility and finger strength.

At the same time, it is possible to train toddlers practically from birth. For example, parents can massage fingers of their babies and do light finger exercises. At the age of 2-3 years, parents can play finger games while reading to children funny nursery rhymes. In this way they can improve their skills in a fun & playful format.

Fine motor skills development in preschool children

As a person gets older, the need for good finger coordination increases. Parents of children who go to kindergarten know that already at the age of 3-4 years the children are actively engaged in creative work: making handicrafts from improvised materials, modeling with clay or dough, drawing, coloring pictures, making applications. Such development of fine motor skills in children of preschool age is the most important part of preparation for studying at school.

However, classes in kindergarten are often not enough for kids to fully expand their abilities, so preschool teachers recommend doing extra activities with them. Choose games and exercises that require small, precise movements: 

*rope weaving - will contribute to the development of finger mobility, as well as help to learn how to lace shoes;

*different types of creativity (molding, making crafts, drawing) and games with small objects will be a great addition to kindergarten classes;

*puzzle and constructor building, which is a fun and rewarding activity for the whole family. 

If a preschooler has good control of the fingers and the entire hand, then later it will be easier for him/her to get used to holding a pen and pencil correctly, to draw even and neat characters. Already in the first year of school pupils will have to master writing, moving from drawing dashes and hooks in penmanship to writing full letters and numbers in notebooks. The problem is that by the age of 7, even those children who have been actively engaged in kindergarten and at home do not always possess the skills which are necessarily needed for writing. That is why it is recommended to develop fine motor skills still in the preschool years, but this process should also be organized correctly.

ONE THING WORTH LOOKING AT

It is a wrong to think that finger mobility training is only relevant for preschoolers - elementary school kids need it just as much. When young children learn the textures of different objects, try to hold and move them, they also develop their intellect. The fingertips have many nerve endings that stimulate different parts of the cerebral cortex. Therefore, the tactile study of objects and making movements with the hands contributes to the development of the child's speech, logic, memory, attention and many other mental abilities.

Of course, in order to achieve this effect, it is necessary to practice regularly. It is worth taking into account not only the age of the child, but also their existing skills while choosing a task. Only in this way can the load be measured, making it both feasible and non-tiring. Another important factor that affects the effectiveness of classes is elements of games that present in training. It makes the process of learning fun and interesting. It is important to take into account all of these facts when choosing a method of developing fine motor skills in a schoolchild or preschooler.

Techniques that develop fine motor skills

There are many programs that are aimed at improving motor skills in preschool children and schoolchildren, and therefore it is difficult to choose any one of them. Initially, it is better to consider those techniques that promote not only motor, but also intellectual development - improving the child's abilities, instilling useful skills.

 One of these programs is a mental arithmetic - a system of training for rapid calculation in the head, which is suitable for students from 5 years and older. Mastering it, children learn to count on an abacus, which promotes the development of motor skills. Gradually they consolidate their skills and move on to the next level - oral calculations.

After students get used to imagining the abacus and counting already on it. Such activity gives a useful load on both hemispheres of the brain - the left, which allows to apply logical-analytical abilities, and the right, which is responsible for creativity, imagination and creativity. Thus, it is possible to improve different skills of kids at the same time. 

You can master mental arithmetic in courses from AMAKids Academy. Studying in small groups under the guidance of an experienced teacher, students will gradually pass all the stages of mastering rapid oral calculation, as well as increase their intellectual potential. All this will help them to succeed not only in their studies, but also in many other activities.