Developing early writing skills....finger gym

To  be able to make marks effectively, children need to be able to develop their fine motor skills.  This means developing the muscles in the fingers and the hands. 

Children need lots of different opportunities to do this and we can be too quick sometimes to give them pencils and crayons as they need lots of practice with the different opportunities we can offer them to develop the skills needed to hold them. 

Writing should be fun and not a chore.  Its really important that children see us using lots of different opportunities to write as we are living in a very technological age we don't seem to do this as much as we used to.....lots of tapping on screens instead which is just using one finger.

The development of the muscles helps with learning how to use scissors too as well as much more.

Finger gym activities are activities to help develop fine motor skills, making fingers and hands stronger. Here are some ideas to try:

https://apreschoolteacher.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/finger-gym-threading/

How fab and cheap is this idea...... Threading cheerios on string to make bracelets etc.  I have made these before with the families I work with but did it a little unhealthily as we used red liquorice laces to make them.

http://tishylishy.co.uk/finger-gym

Another really simple activity using pom poms.  Pop on over to find out more.

http://www.abcdoes.com/abc-does-a-blog/2013/09/dough-gym-week-funky-fingers/

Non messy mark making

Threading is a really good activity to develop these skills.  You can use wooden beads, buttons or threading cards....

Little scientist

Children love to mix things together to make potions.  Provide children with materials to create their own laboratory.  For example: clear plastic pots, plastic bottles, spoons, lolly sticks, pipettes etc.

Possible ingredients:

• Water
• Cooking oil
• Vinegar
• Baking powder
• Baby oil
• Salt
• Sugar
• Ketchup
• Corn flour
• Flour
• Ice
• Food colouring
• Bicarbonate of soda

However don't leave your child unattended when experimenting!

Sensory sand ideas

Try the following ideas for some different sensory ideas when playing with sand......

1. Add a splash of water and washing up liquid for another sensory element.  You can add food colouring too
2. Add PVA glue and a dash of paint, allow to play on card and then dry to create a longer term creation
3. Use in a shallow tray.  Add paintbrushes and make marks.  Add glitter
4. Add metal objects and hide in the sand.  Ask the children to fins the objects using a magnet

Play ideas to stimulate the senses.....

Salt dough

You will need: 4  x cups of salt, 1 x cup of corn flour and water

1. Mix salt and corn flour in a pan

2. Add enough water to form a paste

3. Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly

Sand dough

You will need: 1 x cup of sand, 1/2 cup corn flour, 3/4 cup of hot water

1. Mix ingredients in pan

2. Cook, until very thick

3. Let models dry in the sun for 12 hours

Modelling dough

You will need: 2 x cups of salt

1 x cup of corn flour

1 x cup of warm water

1. Mix in a pan on low heat

2. Model

3. Leave to harden or cook on a low heat

(This is great dough that is very smooth and soft.  Hardens quickly and paints well)

Clean mud

You will need: 1 x bar of dove soap

1 x roll of toilet paper

1 x gallon of water

1. In a large tub, layer up toilet roll

2. Grate the soap and sprinkle over the paper

3. Add warm water

4. Leave over night, use to make models

Shaving foam - Use Sensitive Only

Spray the shaving foam onto a tray or a table.

Allow the children to spread around and draw patterns or letters with their fingers.

Add powder paint and mix the colours.

Take prints of their pictures by putting paper on the top.

Cloud dough

You will need: 8 parts of plain flour

1 part baby oil

1. Mix it together. 

2. It will be soft but also hold together like wet sand

3. Add a splash of food colouring

How to make a drum

Making a drum is so simple and doesn't have to cost a penny.  You can use different sized saucepans, plastic containers or tins of different sizes.  I have to say though that one of my all time favourites that I use with the families I work with is made out of a .....baby milk tin!  Add a couple of metal and wooden spoons or just use your hands and away you go. 

After cleaning it out you can decorate it with wrapping paper or similar.  I tend to cover the wrapping paper in sellotape to make it both wipe able and to last longer.  You can also glue the lid on with a glue gun.

Great for:

• Developing hand / eye coordination skills
• Developing listening skills and rhythm
• Listening to different sounds, especially as one side is plastic and the other side is metal making both soft and hard sounds

                                                            Picture taken from Pinterest

'Cuddle' rhyme

This is a very poignant rhyme in the technical world we live in with lots of tv, computers and tablets. 

  Cuddle

I’d rather have a cuddle than a video

I’d rather have a cuddle than anything I know

I’d rather have a cuddle than ketchup, chips or peas

A computer can be lovely

But – a cuddle’s what I need

Image taken from: www.dreamstime.com

'When Goldilocks went to the house of the Bears' rhyme

This is one of my all time favourite rhymes.  I like to sing this one with the families during our 'the importance of books and stories week' as I use the Goldilocks prop bag which I have put together using items from around the home..... 3 x teddy bears, a doll, 3 x bowls in different sizes and 3 x spoons in different sizes.  I have also added some picture of the chairs and beds in different sizes which I printed off from the internet and laminated to make them last.  Remember if you don't have a laminator you can use sellotape to cover them to make them last too.   It doesn't have to cost anything to make a prop bag just a good search around your home to see what you can use.

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears

Oh what did her blue eyes see?

A bowl that was huge, a bowl that was small

And a bowl that was tiny and that was all

She counted them 1, 2, 3

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears

Oh what did her blue eyes see?

A chair that was huge, a chair that was small

And a chair that was tiny and that was all

She counted them 1, 2, 3

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears

Oh what did her blue eyes see?

A bed that was huge, a bed that was small

And a bed that was tiny and that was all

She counted them 1, 2, 3

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears

Oh what did her blue eyes see?

A bear that was huge, a bear that was small

And a bear that was tiny and that was all

They growled at her ‘Grr, grr, grr’