Let's Talk Fine Motors

Fine motor skills are SUCH a big topic in early childhood education right now. Not only is it emphasized when your child starts school, but it starts even earlier in development. This is one of those educational buzz words that tends to get thrown at parents in the early years. So today we'll take a look at what fine motor skills are, why they're important, and how you can work on these at home with your child.

Fine motors focus on the small muscles in the hands that are used to grasp, write, draw, paint, etc. Children develop these skills from infancy, and they're used throughout life and even into adulthood. Untying a knot? That's fine motor skills. Buttoning a button, zipping a zipper, picking up washers or nails? All of these tasks rely on fine motor skills to help you be successful. The reason there is so much focus on these in early childhood education is because they become super important as students learn academic skills like handwriting and cutting, and become more independent in tasks like dressing themselves and tying their own shoes. As a teacher, this was one of the biggest topics I liked to talk about with parents at the beginning of the school year. In Kindergarten, academics ramp up quickly in the second half of the year (around January) and the demands on students and their abilities increase as well. Without strong fine motors, students may have a difficult time keeping up with the pace of what's expected in terms of writing stories and completing projects in a "reasonable" amount of time. Now, that being said, every school, child and teacher is going to be different. This is not a one size fits all situation, but no matter where your child attends school, they will need to strengthen their fine motor skills!

Luckily, there are so many fun ways to work on these skills at home and at school. I always love to recommend using play dough to make creations and encourage your child to embrace their creativity! Play dough is very malleable and helps strengthen those key muscles in a fun way. Legos are also a favorite fine motor activity among preschool and Kindergarten kiddos. Again, it works these important muscles while your little one plays. I love that parents can incorporate this practice with tools they likely have at home already. Keep an eye on our printables and activities sections for more fine motor activities in February!

For more information on milestones and how to incorporate

fine motors, check out the Children's Hospital of Richmond's article here! https://www.chrichmond.org/services/therapy-services/developmental-milestones/fine-motor-skills-2-to-5-years

One to One Correspondence

Have you ever heard your child's teacher mention 1:1 correspondence? This is a critical early math skill that is necessary for learning basically every other operation! In short, this is what most people know as counting. 1:1 correspondence is the skill of being able to match one number to one object or quantity. For example, if you put 5 animal crackers on the table, a child with an understanding of 1:1 would be able to point to the first cracker and say 1, then the next and say 2, etc. This skill is usually taught in the preschool years, and is often reviewed at the beginning of Kindergarten to gauge where students are at in their skill levels. Even adults use this skill in their every day lives without even knowing it!

So what are some ways you can build this skill at home? Maybe your child's teacher has mentioned that they are still growing in this skill. Maybe you're homeschooling or working with your toddler at home to develop skills before they even start school. Either way, you can easily work on these at home! Here are some ideas:

• Count how many doors are in your house (or windows, light switches, pretty much anything!)

• Practice with breakfast cereal and snacks when serving or eating them! Count how many cheerios they have, each cookie they munch, or find another creative way.

• When out and about or waiting in line at the store, count anything you can find and model by pointing to each object as you do.

Most importantly, don't feel the need to drill these skills all day and night! If your child's enjoying it and responding well to counting together, that's great. Try to be mindful to keep it fun. This is one of the topics I've talked with parents about a lot. Many times, they said their child didn't want to ,was giving them a hard time about it, or that it was getting stressful to practice at home. Do what works for your child! They may not be ready for the skill yet, or maybe they need another way of practicing and that's okay too! Keep an eye on the printable and activities section for new games and fun activities each month.

Subitizing... WHAT is THAT?

When I first started teaching, I heard this word for the first time, and even I didn't know exactly what it was until I put it into practice. Subitizing is the skill that helps us recognize "how many" (objects, dots, toys, etc.) without needing to count. For example, when an adult or older child looks at dice, they almost immediately recognize how many dots are 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 without needing to count. This isn't so for our preschoolers and early Kindergarten students. This skill actually needs a lot of practice, but luckily it's easy to do with board games and authentic experiences. See the "printables" section for a print out memory game that can help students practice at home. Youtube has some great songs and videos as well.

For some low or no prep ideas, try seeing how fast they can identify numbers on dominos or play with your fingers! Hold up a few fingers and have your child practice seeing how fast you and your child can both identify the number without counting! Young children may need to practice with counting first (we'll talk about 1:1 correspondence in a different post). This is part of learning and once they get counting down, they can practice subitizing. Being able to quickly recognize numbers will come in handy for future math skills like addition and subtraction, as well as being able to do mental math. If your child takes awhile to learn this skill, don't worry! With practice and time they'll get it.