It’s a good idea to monitor your preschooler’s ability to use his hands and fingers. These skills are referred to as fine motor skills and would allow him to take care of himself, such as tie shoelaces, fasten helmet straps or cut his steak. Fine motor skills also influence other abilities such as writing, drawing, and playing instruments.
Keeping a close eye on his hands and finger skills would give an indication of whether your pre-schooler needs extra help, and then with encouragement your little one will be able to improve. His abilities won’t be perfect at this age, but there are certain milestones children his age are expected to have reached.
Test his abilities yourself
I’ve put a quick checklist that you could use to have a go at testing his abilities.
Watch whether your child can:
- dress and undress without help
- use a spoon, fork, and (possibly) a knife
- copy shapes, letters and lines
- fasten the straps on his shoes
- unzip his backpack and jacket
- write his name
- draw a person with body, plus a little bit of detail (such as eyes, mouth and nose)
- wash and dry his hands without assistance.
Record your thoughts on paper. Also, see whether you can determine his hand dominance so that when you’re helping him later on you’ll know which hand he prefers to use. Give yourself a few days and observe one to two unplanned activities per day such as when he’s playing with complex toys.
Get started through play
Now that you have a rough idea at what level your child is with his hand and finger skills, you can encourage further development, whether he’s struggling or not. As example, you could introduce activities on the weekends and give him at least an entire school term to improve his skills little by little. Then you’d be able to do a comparison of your notes.
A good way is to modify activities he is already used to and to participate with him. Small changes and your participation would help peak his interest.
Help your child develop his skills by encouraging him to:
- write and draw his favorite things on a small blackboard or whiteboard
- punch holes in cardboard then thread shoelaces through the holes
- trace the shapes of his toys, such as cars and figurines
- colour the rims of plastic cups with markers or paint
- put together cardboard puzzles (30-piece are best)
- complete dot-to-dot activities
- plant seedlings in pots
- complete activities in colouring books and activity books
- pluck petals off small flowers while making wishes
- trace, cut and paste pictures from old magazines
- set up complex toys to tell stories, such as small animal farms or miniature tea sets.
Remember to make it fun and to not push him. Your role is to provide support and to enable his development. If he’s not interested today, try again another day. He’ll play when it’s interesting and when he’s willing. So, be patient. You’d be surprised; you might discover his new talents through these exercises!