Build Fine Motor and Writing Skills

In the few remaining weeks before school begins, it is a good time to polish those fine motor skills. There are many ways to work on these skills, which are fundamentally important in learning how to write legibly. Fine motor skills are important in handwriting, keyboarding, and a multitude of vocational studies. Children with learning disabilities in basic writing can benefit from activities and games that develop fine motor skills. Here are some tips and activities to get you going:

• Teach your child finger spelling. Finger spelling can be used by hearing and non-hearing students as a way to reinforce spelling.
• Make hand shadows with thisfree hand shadows booklet from Project Gutenberg. Learn more hand shadow techniques with this About.com video.
• For even more fun with language skills, use hand shadows to act out your child's favorite stories. For children with limited fine motor skills, make these fun cardboard roll finger puppets.
• Have fun acting out stories from your child's favorite books using hand shadows or finger puppets. Explore new story books recommended for your child's age.
• Teach your child basic handwriting skills with a multisensory tactile writing tray.
• Many typical toys and games help develop fine motor skills such as Jenga (a block tower building game), checkers, puzzles, playing cards are just a few.
• Find fun family crafts that do double duty in strengthening fine motor skills like these:
  • For older kids, try these computer activities that embed fine motor skills.
  • Need to work on cursive writing skills? You'll find printable worksheets and animated graphics demonstrating letter formation.