Simple activities for developing your toddler's fine motor skills.

Working out has never been so fun…that is if you are a toddler developing fine motor skills. When your child progressed from a newborn waving her arms uncontrollably to an infant using her pointing finger and thumb to pick up a piece of dry cereal, you witnessed fine motor skills evolve. When it comes to writing, fine motor skills simply refer to the small muscle movements that your child’s fingers and wrists make.
As a toddler, her fine motor development will continue to progress to the point that she can make deliberate shapes, such as circles and even “letters” that only the two of you can recognize.

As your toddler’s oral language skills develop through reading stories and singing songs, strengthen her written language abilities using a few of the fine motor work out suggestions below.

Play

Set up a spot, such as a booster seat at the kitchen table or a child-size table and chair in the playroom, where your child can sit to focus on tasks using just her arms and hands. Provide one or more of the following activities on a daily basis.

• Play dough
• Stickers and a sticker book
• Magazine pages or scrap paper to tear
• A stack of board books to page through
• Fat crayons and large pieces of paper or cardboard

Self Care

Your toddler has a growing, and strong, sense of independence. Work with this sense of independence to help her develop fine motor skills for writing.

• Allow her to finish zipping up her jacket or pajamas everyday.
• Encourage her to pump her own liquid soap or lotion out.
• Ask her to pick up and move small objects for you—such as adding the cherry tomatoes and carrot slices to the salad. 

Written Exploration

To exercise some of the brain power needed for writing, work with your child to make connections between the writing that she sees and the marks that she makes. Here are some suggestions:

• Describe what you are writing. As you write a list or a note, show your child what you are writing and say the word as you write it.   
• Describe what she is writing. Provide your child with lots of notepads and big paper. As she draws, describe what you see. For example, you could say, “I see that long wavy line. Now I see a big, round circle. Nice work.”
• Describe what others have written. As you shop or wait in a doctor’s office, point out the writing on signs, boxes, and magazine covers.

By Anne Oxenreider

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