Acknowledgements - gapitc

Five Finger Exercises
Give your child some play dough about the size of a lemon.
Sit at the table with your child and model these movements that use finger
muscles.
Use one hand and some pressure to squeeze the play dough through your
fingers.
Now, roll the play dough into a ball using both hands, then into a long snake.
Next, use your fist to pound the play dough flat on the table.
Sing the following song as you work the finger muscles:
(To the tune of “This is the way we wash our clothes…”)
This is the way we squeeze our dough,
Squeeze our dough, squeeze our dough,
This is the way we squeeze our dough,
So early in the morning.
(repeat with “roll our dough,” “pound our dough”)
Children vary in their skill and interest in fine motor play. Some children will enjoy
activities such as connecting toys,stringing large beads,or using crayons and markers.
Others will seldom choose this type of play and may prefer active running, jumping,
sliding and wrestling!
Toddlers need more time for active play, but also daily opportunities to use the
small muscles in their fingers and hands.
Two year olds gain more eye-hand coordination. The random marks they used to
make with crayons now begin to look like lines and enclosed shapes. These shapes
begin to look more like circles and later, squares.
Do not expect children’s “drawings” to look like a real object. Instead, encourage
the pleasure of using the paintbrush or crayon to create!
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