Fine motor skills and why they’re so important.

Fine motor skills are the coordination between the smaller muscles in our hands wrists and fingers and they are super important for our children. We need these skills to be able to hold and use a pencil, scissors, grasp small objects and fasten our clothing as well as many other reasons. Learning and practicing these skills early will help to promote a child’s independence and give them confidence.

When selecting activities for the Activity Packs we sell I have used my years of experience as a Norland Nanny, Pre School manager and mother to carefully curate packs that will help children to reach key milestones within their development.

The learn to stitch game is a fun and interactive way for promoting the development of these skills. This activity is ideal for pretty much anywhere! We’ve used it at home, taken it on picnics, to friends houses, in the car. It would be great on a plane or train as a light weight activity with 8 different cards to stitch it will provide a lot of entertainment.

We have a lovely range of Usborne books on our website for a variety of ages. The Usborne books are just fabulous and are jam packed with all sorts of wonderful activities depending on the books you choose. From pencil and paper games to magic painting books these are another great way to develop pencil control in younger children and for older children to develop key skills. Children will have no idea that they’re learning, in their eyes they will simply be having fun.

Other fun ways for children to develop fine motor skills as well as pencil control and the all important pincer grip are to do things such as scratch and engraving art.

Plasticine and Play-Doh are a fun and creative way to develop fine motor skills. It can be easily manipulated and children can develop a variety of techniques while playing with it. It’s also brilliant for imaginative play. The next time your child makes you a cake or cookie out of play-doh and excitedly comes to show you, extend the conversation by asking them how you bake a cake or cookie, talk about the different ingredients. This is a great opportunity to develop their knowledge based on their interests and really engage them in their learning. 

The retro construction kits are great for helping older children to develop their fine motor skills as well as understanding and following instructions. They will also have something they can be proud of at the end of it. It can be taken apart and rebuilt too.

Origami is a paper folding art that builds skill and is a fun craft activity. It is a lovely creative way to develop fine motor skills and can be done pretty much anywhere.