Snipping, Sticking And Pasting: A Fine Motor Activity
My poor little boy has been under the weather these past few days and as a result I have had to take some time off of work to care for him at home. Since it’s been quite nippy outside and the wind adds to the chilled air, we’ve remained cooped up indoors. Cooping up a very active three-year-old boy is not easy however and I have had to really pull some ideas out of my “you-know-what” to keep him happy and busy.
One of our recent activities was in fact such a basic concept, but it provided at least 30 minutes of fun and distraction. I grabbed some paper, stickers, coloured paper, scissors and glue and we got busy snipping, cutting, gluing and sticking our stickers and tiny pieces of coloured paper on to our pages. He simply loved this little “game” and the fact that he was finally allowed to use scissors.
This activity was not inly a hit, it was educational too. Not only did we really work on his fine motor development, but we learnt new words, colours and shapes too. As he cut out his shapes we chatted about the colour of the paper and what we could see in the room that matched each colour. We then looked at the shapes of his cut outs and I asked him with other shape it reminded him of. His fine motor skills were of course being worked on to the utmost as he manoeuvred his scissors and held the paper, added glue to each piece and then pinched the tiny bits before pressing them down to stick on the pages.
This educational activity is not only perfect for parents to keep little ones busy at home, it can also be done with groups of children at nursery schools or play groups. The end result is a satisfied child who has practised his or her skills and a beautiful piece of artwork that can be placed on the wall or gifted to a loved one.
Why Are Fine Motor Activities Important?
Fine motor skills are essential for performing everyday skills as outlined above as well academic skills. Without the ability to complete these every day tasks, a child’s self-esteem can suffer, their academic performance is compromised and their play options are very limited. They are also unable to develop appropriate independence in ‘life’ skills (such as getting dressed and feeding themselves) which in turn has social implications not only within the family but also within peer relationships. - https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/fine-motor-skills/
It just goes to show, you really don’t have to spend a fortune on elaborate toys or craft materials, you simply need to raid your draws and cupboards for what you already have at home or in the classroom and with a little bit of imagination, you can rustle up an activity that keeps little fingers and minds busy, while they learn new things!
Side note: Not only was this a fun educational game for my child, but we also spent time together while doing it, we bonded while we chatted about what we were doing and we enjoyed the quiet time together.
*** ALL IMAGES WERE TAKEN BY @ SWEETPEA ***
Much love - @sweetpea
Just got to know about this motor activity and am glad it's educational as well. Indeed we learn every day!
Thanks ma'am for sharing this!
Yay!! Looks like fun @sweetpea.
I remember working with kids in an after-school program many years ago. Scissors skills had not been mastered yet by the kindergartners, so we did quite a few projects that helped them with their small motor skills.
Have you read the books, "The Female Brain" or "The Male Brain"? Both written by Luanne Brizendine. I haven't read them in, again, years but the take-away for me what that girls can sit and learn OR move and learn quite easily BUT boys need movement for learning. It really changed my worldview.
Anyway, my kids are all grown (and I miss them so)....but this summer I am going to teach arts and crafts projects at the summer school program where I live. It's a rural school that no longer functions as a school, sadly, but the community is using it more and more as a meeting place. I am happy to be surrounded by children once more.
I agree, simple ways but offer big development for every kid. :)
Hello friend, thanks for sharing, very good teaching for teachers and parents, using scissors is very easy when the child starts from very young, because when it is big it becomes very difficult and it is not easy for the teacher to teach him, you must take this learning from home.
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