To Be or Knot to Be -- Our Next Fine Motor Lesson

This weekend I decided to clear some clutter and went through my closet and drawers and tossed/gave away unneeded items. Although I had been putting off the task because I am not good in that area at all, my much dreaded activity quickly turned into a treasure find.

I have found that it is not quite as challenging to engage young children in activities that strengthen fine motor skills, as it is older children. What do you do after pushpin, tracing insets, and lightbrights after children get a little older and tire of these activities? 

Thanks to the scouting book I found while cleaning out my sock drawer (I have no idea how it got there, but I'm glad it was there), a treasure of great activities, which included knot-tying, helped me decide on my next approach to strengthening our fine-motor skills.

Although the book itself did not go into great detail on how to tie individual knots, I found some wonderful online sites that displayed clear diagrams. I printed and cut the diagrams/directions to create instruction cards.

I found my "rope" at a fabric store. I figured the thick yarn robe would be large enough for them to practice the knot-tying, but gentle enough not to create scratches on their hands.

I ran an errand to our local Lowe's Home Improvement store and purchased a couple of pieces of small wood used for porch posts and then scoured the aisles until I found just the right thing to insert in the pre-made holes so the kids would have something in which to practice tying their knots (some of the diagrams do not show tying around an object, but many displayed knots being tied to posts or hooks, so I wanted to
add a variety of options)

They did really well for their first experience and had a lot of fun too:

 
 
Here are a few of the knot-tying websites I found:

• Grog's Index of Scouting Knots
• Roper's Knot Page

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Fingernail Clipping Activity

I was in need of an activity that reinforced fine motor skills with my children. Interest in playdoh and push pin work has waned for right now. Therefore, I pulled out an old favorite --- fingernail clipping.

When I first introduced this activity a while ago, we traced our hands and drew fingernails on them and practiced cutting the paper nails. 

I decided to try an updated version this time when I brought the fingernail clippers back to the shelf. I cut small strips of paper (I used three different colors) approximately 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. I used red, green, and blue for this activity (mainly because these are the colors that I found first in the art bucket).

I pulled out our measuring spoons and separated the 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, and 1 tsp from the ring.

I affixed red, blue, and green bands around each spoon.

I used a white sheet of paper and labeled the placement of the objects. This also teaches the measurements of 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, and 1 tsp. The child uses the fingernail clippers to cut small pieces of paper and fills up the spoons according to the color of the band on the spoon. 

The aspect I really liked about this variation is that the children spent more time actually practicing cutting with the clippers as they had the goal of filling up each spoon - which helped my goal of them practicing their fine motor skills longer!

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Games, Creativity, and Fine Motor Skills

I love going to the bookstore. Something about just walking in the doors brings a feeling of peace that relaxes my mind and body. I could spend hours and hours wandering through the aisles, rediscovering the old and taking in the new.

On my way to the gym last night, I took a little detour and visited our local bookstore. At first I felt a little guilty, but once I walked through those doors, the guilt just floated out of my head. I promised myself that I would not purchase anything, as it is close to Christmas and we have had "Murphy" come live with us over the last couple of months in the form of car problems, heating unit issues, extra doctor bills, etc.

I was making one last stroll through the back of the store. It is the hobby and craft section of the store. I usually try to stay clear of this section as it is extra tempting to purchase these wonderful books, but I never seem to have time to start, much less complete, any of the projects.

One book stood out from the rest. It was called Origami Games: Hands-On Fun for Kids by Joel Stern. I have a few origami books that we have created projects with, but the kids were somewhat tired of doing the same thing. My son especially needs activities such as these to work on his fine motor skills, as they are still lacking significantly in this area. I do have to admit there are only so many butterflies you can talk a little boy into making. This book was just what I needed.

Origami Games contains activities that enable you to create actual games to play. It has instructions ranging from a basketball hoop, bowling pins, to sailboats. It even has a game called "Slay the Dragon" where you make a "goal post" (also used for paper football) and hang an origami dragon from it and try to knock it down with a triangular football-shaped paper. We created a basketball hoop this morning and had a blast. It was so much fun and I love having the kids make their own "fun" while getting such a practical skill at the same time (fine motor skills)

If you think the basketball hoop looks fun - you should make the catapult! It was loads of fun!



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