When developing curriculum, daycare providers must include age-appropriate activities for young children that develop fine motor skills. This lei making activity will support an fine arts unit as well as promote visual motor coordination, bilateral coordination, and hand strength.
Fine motor skills are actions that involve the small movement of hands, wrists, feet, fingers, toes, tongue, and lips. In contrast with gross motor skills which involve larger muscles of the arms, legs and feet, fine motor skills focus on small muscle movements in coordination with the eye. Some important fine motor concepts and skills that preschool age children learn to master are bilateral coordination, visual motor coordination, grasp, hand use, manipulation skills, pincer grasp, wrist rotation, pre-writing grasp, hand strength, and tactile awareness.
Children learn fine motor skills through practice. Activities which involve writing, drawing, cutting, stringing, and buttoning are great examples of activities that promote the development of fine motor skills. This lei making activity includes the preparation instructions, procedure, and materials list for this activity. It also provides age-appropriate learning objectives and a sample of the simple supporting verbal cues necessary to encourage participation and support learning.
Foam Lei Materials
For each child you will need:
- Yarn
- Colored foam material cut into flower shapes
- Straws cut into small pieces
Activity Procedures
Punch holes in the middle of the flower shapes. Show children how to sew a pattern by stringing the flowers and straw pieces onto a piece of yarn. Alternate between flowers pieces and straw pieces. Tie the lei loosely around the child’s neck when the lei is complete.
Fine Motor Learning Objectives
Objective 1: To provide the opportunity for increased visual-motor coordination, bilateral coordination, hand strength, and pincher grasp by stringing the flowers onto the yarn.
- Verbal Cue A: Can you string the yarn through the hole in the flower?
- Verbal Cue B: I like the way you are putting the flowers on the yarn!
Objective 2: To provide the opportunity to increase bilateral coordination, hand strength and visual-motor coordination and pincher grasp by stringing straw pieces onto the yarn.
- Verbal Cue A: Let’s dip the tip of the brush in paint and then make dots on the paper.
- Verbal Cue B: I like how you are making dots with your brush.
Objective 3: The child will practice spontaneity in materials usage.
- Verbal Cue A: Which color would you like to choose next?
- Verbal Cue B: I like how you choosing your materials for your lei.
Children in your child day care center will create a unique work of art while enhancing their fine motor skills.
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