Posting objects through holes, squeezing playdough, threading beads and manipulating different fastenings are all skills that children master as part of their fine motor development on their journey towards writing. Malleable materials like dough are particularly good for developing fine motor co-ordination because as children squeeze it, push it, pull it, pinch it and press it, they are strengthening the small muscles in their hands and fingers and developing their hand-eye co-ordination. Handling small-world figures, hammering nails into a log or spreading glue are all examples of resources that support the development of fine motor control.
Millie Colwey, who has worked with the Department for Education through the Bristol Early Years Teaching Hub to advise on physical development, says that although threading beads, using scissorsand drawing are automatically associated with fine motor control, it is ‘vital’ that settings provide ongoing opportunities to strengthen the whole body and integrate sensory systems.
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