“Development of fine motor skills in children from birth to 7 years old”

What are fine motor skills

Fine motor skills are the consistency and precision of movements required to perform various actions with small objects using the hands and fingers and toes.

Fine motor skills are evident in children from an early age, when they are just learning to hold a toy. First, the development of the hand and finger movements occurs, then the formation of speech is formed. The formation of speech through the development of fine motor skills occurs due to the influence of nerve endings on the parts of the brain responsible for motor skills and speech, which are located next to each other.

In addition to the main function - speech development - fine motor skills influence the development of mental processes: thinking, memory, imagination, and the ability to navigate in space.

Features of the development of fine motor skills

The ability to master fine motor skills in children does not develop on its own, that is, it does not have a hereditary factor. Adults play a great role in this matter; by their example, they involve the child in various activities and develop him systematically and purposefully. This hypothesis was first put forward by the Russian scientist Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov. Subsequently, other scientists, doctors, teachers and specialists in various fields began to focus on this opinion as the key one.

Why is so much attention paid to the development of fine motor skills? For children, it means the development of basic skills and abilities.

1. The child’s speech is formed, which contributes to a comfortable stay in the children’s group.
2. The skills of various movements are developed. The child can play with toys independently without distracting an adult.
3. Self-service skills are strengthened. The child gains the ability to independently hold a spoon, tie shoelaces, fasten buttons and other elements on clothes.
4. Social connections are established with peers and adults, thanks to the ability to clearly express one’s thoughts and maintain dialogue.
5. Readiness for schooling is formed through the combination of all the above reasons.

Tests for the development of general motor skills of the hands

At home, you can carry out 3 simple tests, the authors of which are Nizhegorodtseva N.V. and Shadrikov V.D.:

1. Trace with a pencil the child's palms with fingers apart, located on 1 sheet of paper. Look at the resulting drawing and ask him to place his brushes again in accordance with the contours. Now the child should raise his fingers in the order you indicate. First, the test is carried out on the right hand, then on the left, a total of 2 times on each. You should point to your finger while touching it with a pencil. When performing a task, other fingers may also rise involuntarily. This inclusion of muscles unnecessary for performing a given action occurs due to insufficient differentiation of movements and is called synkinesis. To summarize, you need to calculate the average number of synkinesis over two attempts for the left and right hands and add them up. For a 6-year-old child, their sum should be 9. A larger number indicates insufficient development of finger movements.
2. Draw a circle with a diameter of 3-3.5 cm, show it to the child and ask him to do the same without lifting his hand. If he drew a circle with a much smaller diameter, then this indicates a clamped brush. The movement of the hand when performing a task or the oval produced also indicate problems with fine motor skills.
3. Pay attention to how the preschooler draws and colors pictures. If he constantly turns the drawing, the brush is stiff, too tense or, conversely, sluggish. If the child gets tired quickly, then it is important to organize help without wasting time.

Speech therapists associate the influence of fine motor skills on the development of speech in preschoolers and believe that if the fingers develop according to age, then speech will be normal and, conversely, if the fingers are not active enough, then speech development will be delayed, although general motor skills may be normal. The importance of developing fine motor skills in preschoolers is that full speech is an indispensable condition for successful learning at school. To learn to write, a child must be able to make precise movements with the brush and fingers. Otherwise, writing will become problematic, slow, and with the slightest increase in speed, the letters will be written crookedly and illegibly.

Games and exercises aimed at developing fine motor skills

The main activity of preschool children is play. We have selected a variety of games and exercises for you, among which you will definitely find something that suits you and your child.

1. Folding toys. We place a transparent container in front of the child and place small toys separately. We suggest putting toys into the container with your right hand. Then we pour them back and ask you to repeat the same actions with your left hand.
2. Games with cereals. In one container we mix two types of cereals, for example, rice and buckwheat. It is necessary for the child to put these cereals into different containers. You can complicate the game by adding other small objects to the mixture of cereals, for example, beads, buttons, pebbles.
3. Exercise for tearing a sheet of paper. First, draw random lines on a sheet of paper. We invite the child to tear the paper with his hands exactly along the drawn lines. You can complicate the task by depicting geometric shapes.
4. Page turning exercise. As your child gets older, instead of tearing a sheet of paper, you can suggest flipping through the pages of a favorite book. This exercise also promotes the child's early interest in reading literature.
5. Smoothing out a crumpled sheet of paper. We place a crumpled sheet of paper in front of the child and offer to smooth it out so that not a single bent corner remains. You can complicate the exercise by suggesting that you do it with one hand, while holding the sheet with your thumb.
6. Games with cubes. We give the task to assemble various figures from cubes: a tower, a house, a car, etc. Pyramid rings are also suitable for these games. The tasks become more complicated as the child masters the construction of simple figures.
7. Games with lacing. Available in various options. It can also be an unnecessary shoe that you can let your child lace and unlace. It could also be a card with holes for laces. In any case, the actions with these objects are the same and pursue the same goal - to teach the child to cope with shoelaces on his own, since this skill will be useful to him in the future.
8. Exercises with counting sticks. Please place geometric shapes on the table. First, the child completes tasks according to the model, and then independently according to verbal instructions. An additional advantage of this exercise is the formation of elementary mathematical concepts.
9. Games with lids. Here you can offer various containers and vessels with lids that the child will independently twist and unscrew. And if you tell your child that you can’t cope without him, you will give him a motive to become your main assistant.
10. Finger drawing in the sand. Invite your child to draw geometric shapes or any other design he wishes with all his fingers one by one. Interaction with sand also has a positive effect on the central nervous system.

Adults are always concerned with the question of how to ensure the comprehensive development of a child in preschool age. It has long been no secret to anyone that the development of fine motor skills (flexibility and precision of finger movements) and tactile sensitivity is a powerful stimulus for the development of children’s perception, attention, memory, thinking and speech. Life itself gives babies enormous potential for the development of finger movements: the practice of self-care, manipulation with household items.

Why is it so important for children to develop fine motor skills? The fact is that in the human brain the centers responsible for speech and finger movements are located very close. By performing various exercises with his fingers, the child achieves good development of fine motor skills of the hands, which not only has a beneficial effect on the development of speech, but also prepares the child for drawing, and later for writing. The hands acquire good mobility and flexibility, and the stiffness of movements disappears.

Today, most modern children have a general motor lag; the level of speech development of children has noticeably decreased. Why? Parents talk less with their children because many of them are terribly busy at work. Children themselves speak less, because they watch and listen more (TV-audio-video...) They rarely do anything with their own hands, because modern toys and things are arranged as conveniently as possible, but are not effective for the development of motor skills (clothes and shoes with Velcro instead of laces and buttons, books with stickers instead of pictures for cutting out). Therefore, work on the development of fine motor skills should begin long before entering school, namely from a very early age.

Working with children who have poor development of general motor skills, and in particular their hands, the general unpreparedness of most modern children for writing or problems with speech development, I considered the most relevant and significant work on the development of fine motor skills of the fingers.

In the group, I tried to create conditions for the development of fine motor skills as accessible and dynamically as possible. For this purpose, a corner was created for the development of fine motor skills, which included a certain set of aids - lacing, different types of mosaics and construction sets, various teaching materials. But watching the children’s actions, I noted the tension in their movements and inaccuracy in performing the exercises.

A diagnosis of fine motor skills carried out at the beginning of the year shows that on average 80% of children have a low level of fine motor development, and 20% have an average level. Considering the importance of the problem of developing fine motor skills, I was given the task of conducting in-depth work with children in this direction, working in contact with parents.

During my work, a problem clearly emerged: the need to organize targeted, systematic work on the development of fine motor skills in children through the use of various forms, methods and techniques. Thus, based on the above, the goal of my future activities was determined:

— Improve conditions for the development of fine motor skills of the fingers of preschool children.

To achieve this goal, I set myself the following tasks:

1. Improve the subject-development environment of the group for the development of fine motor skills.

2. Develop fine motor skills of fingers in preschool children through the use of a variety of forms, methods and techniques.

Having studied and analyzed the methodological literature on this problem, I chose the most effective forms, methods, and techniques for developing fine motor skills of the fingers in preschool children.

Based on this literature, I developed a plan for the development of fine motor skills, selected diagnostic tools, systematized games, supplemented the subject development group with non-standard didactic material, and compiled a card index of finger games with poetry.

One of the forms of working with children is play-based activities. I attach great importance to playing in class as a means of creating emotional uplift, positive emotions and joy. A game combined with an artistic word, a word with movement, imitations, onomatopoeia, gives the learning process an exciting form. Conducting games and activities promotes the development of fine motor skills of the hands, improves coordination of movements, and forms the sensorimotor abilities of children.

Encouraging children to independently act with didactic material, I observe their actions, provide assistance if necessary, and create a situation of success.

Playing with objects has a beneficial effect on the development of movements of the entire hand and fingers: pyramids, inserts of various types, puzzles, nesting dolls, mosaics, beads for stringing, etc. Children are attracted by the colorfulness of toys; while playing with them, they acquire the ability to act on the basis of distinguishing shape, size, color, and master a variety of new movements. My task is to support this desire, to organize the child’s communication with peers and adults in the process of substantive activities.

Working with beads

Fastening and unbuttoning buttons and various stringing exercises are excellent for developing the hand. You can string anything that can be strung: buttons, beads, horns and pasta, etc. You can make beads from cardboard circles, squares, hearts, rowan berries. Children are invited to make beads on their own, in which large and small beads alternate, or red and blue, or round and square, etc. When completing this task, it is important that the child not only correctly thread the thread into the holes of the beads, but also follow a certain sequence stringing beads.

You can use a button mosaic to make a flower, a tumbler, a snowman, a butterfly, balls, beads, etc.

Games with counting sticks

The adult shows the child a sample. The child must carefully examine it, in what order the sticks are placed. The child independently lays out a drawing from sticks.

Working with mosaics

A child can lay out a simple pattern from mosaic plates, having a sample in front of his eyes. Then draw up your drawing based on past experience.

Games with construction kits

Playing with a construction set promotes the development of fine motor skills, ideas about color and shape, and spatial orientation. In these games, children's imagination and imaginative thinking rapidly develop. The child is interested in inventing and putting together various structures (houses, cars and other objects).

There are some advantages to using a constructor.

Firstly, a child can play with crafts made from construction sets, touch them, without the risk of spoiling them.

Secondly, when using a construction set, a child can create colorful and attractive crafts, regardless of his or her existing skills. The child already feels a sense of success.

Thirdly, since the construction set can be placed not only on the table, but also on the floor, on the carpet, the child does not need to maintain a static sitting position during classes, which is especially important for somatically weakened children.

And finally, the constructor is safe. The child’s hands remain clean, and the crafts can be put away quickly and easily.

Games with cereals.

Fingers and hands are exercised nowhere better than in games with small objects. You will need all kinds of cereals: millet, buckwheat, rice, as well as peas, semolina and beans.

— Sorting of cereals. The child places the grains in 2 plates: puts peas in one, beans in the other. This game activates the nerve endings of the fingers and promotes the development of thinking, because sorting is the simplest mental operation.

— Drawing on semolina. Spread a thin layer of semolina onto a tray. Using the fingers of one or both hands, we draw whatever we want. If you don’t like the drawing, shake the tray slightly and draw again!

Water games

From bowl to bowl. A tablespoon, a teaspoon, a pipette (smaller bowls are needed), a rubber bulb, a syringe (without a needle, of course). We teach the child how to handle these objects. First, we show it ourselves and make a few movements with its handle. The kids really like to pour water with a sponge: wet the sponge in one bowl, transfer it and squeeze it into another. Children can do this forever.

In their free time, children enjoy coloring.

ready-made coloring albums and coloring books can be used It is necessary to draw the children's attention to ensure that the image is painted over thoroughly, evenly, and neatly.

Modeling from different materials (salt dough, plasticine, clay, regular dough). By kneading and sculpting figures from this material with his fingers, the child strengthens and develops the small muscles of the fingers.

Games with tweezers, clothespins, and plastic bottle caps develop fine motor skills, spatial imagination, and contribute to the development of intelligence and thinking, as well as the development of speech.

Lacing games develop spatial orientation, attention, creativity, and promote eye accuracy and sequence of actions.

are a good way to develop finger skills . Finger games and exercises are a unique means for developing a child’s fine motor skills and speech in their unity and interconnection. Learning texts using “finger” gymnastics stimulates the development of speech, spatial thinking, attention, imagination, and develops reaction speed and emotional expressiveness. The child remembers poetic texts better; his speech becomes more expressive.

All exercises are carried out in a playful way. Their complexity is selected depending on the level of development of fine motor skills of the child’s hands.

Children master basic skills and abilities, they develop coordination of movements, and the activity of articulatory organs improves: lips, tongue, etc.

I have prepared a card index of finger exercises that children use independently. The card is designed in such a way that a child, looking at the image and the position of his fingers, can perform the exercise “Bunny”, “Goose”, “Gate”, etc.

The work of parents and teachers of preschool institutions should be jointly aimed at ensuring the complete and harmonious development of the child in preschool age and proper preparation for school. The use of modern pedagogical technologies for cooperation with the family allows me to intensify relationships based on mutual understanding and trust. At the parent meeting, I introduced parents to the content and importance of the need to develop children's fine motor skills.

I use various forms of work with parents aimed at solving this problem:

— a workshop on organizing games with children at home that promote the development of fine motor skills;

— thematic consultations, moving folders;

— issuance of leaflets and information sheets.

Joint activities with parents to develop fine motor skills have a positive effect on the formation of cognitive processes: perception, memory, thinking, attention, imagination, as well as on the development of speech, prepares the child’s hand for productive activities, which in the future will help to avoid many problems of schooling.

Activities to develop fine motor skills in children

In addition to games to develop fine motor skills, you should engage in a variety of activities that children will undoubtedly enjoy:

• modeling from plasticine, clay or dough;
• drawing or coloring with paints, pencils, crayons;
• construction from construction kits, paper, cubes;
• crafts made from paper, natural or waste materials;
• stringing beads and buttons on a string;
• putting together a mosaic;
• ball games;
• peeling fruits, such as tangerines;
• working with special manuals.

Toys for developing fine motor skills

What could be better for a child than a new toy? Only a toy that contributes to his all-round development.

1. Massage relief mats for feet. Ideal to use after waking up to tone the body. You can purchase a puzzle mat that he can assemble and disassemble on his own. If you want to focus on developing cognitive skills, you can purchase a mat with numbers or letters.
2. Magnets. Place the magnets on the refrigerator or a special magnetic board. The child will definitely become interested in them and will independently move them across the surface. Depending on the purpose pursued, you can purchase magnets of various shapes, for example, in the form of numbers.
3. Kinetic sand. Tactilely pleasant not only for children, but also for adults. This sand does not stain your hands, so it will become a favorite toy for children and an assistant for adults.
4. Easel for drawing. There are options for easels on which you can draw on both sides: on one side with special crayons, and on the other with paints.
5. Massage balls. Ideal for finger play. Thanks to the spikes, they actively affect the areas of the palms and fingers.
6. Designers. You can choose a set from any manufacturer. You should focus on safety for the child, appropriateness for age and gender. In addition to the development of fine motor skills, it stimulates the development of modeling and design skills.
7. Finger Theater. Combines the possibilities for the comprehensive development of the child. In addition, it improves the expressiveness of speech, memory, imagination, and acting skills. This option should definitely be used if you notice that one hand is more developed than the other.
8. Busyboard. Recently, a popular aid for the development of fine motor skills. It is a wooden structure onto which various objects are attached on both sides. These can be lacing, caps, locks, switches, gears, etc. This toy will help parents, as the baby can play with it independently and safely.

At what age should you start developing fine motor skills?

You can develop and train the motor skills of your fingers from infancy, starting from 6-7 months of age through stroking the child’s palm, bending and straightening the fingers.

It is important to pay attention to hand motor skills for at least a few minutes every day.

• For children from nine months of age, large objects should be selected, for example, beads or pyramid rings.
• At the age of 1 year, you can organize games with natural materials: sand, clay, cones, pebbles, etc.
• After 2 years, the baby will happily perform finger gymnastics together with an adult. Saying various nursery rhymes simultaneously with hand movements will help teach hand and tongue coordination. And it will also be better remembered by the child himself.
• After 3 years, you should resort to exercises with paper. Usually by these years the child has mastered the skill of working with scissors, so it becomes possible to model appliqués.
• And from the age of 4-6 years, the skill of origami is mastered as one of the most difficult types of games with paper.

No matter what age you are developing fine motor skills in children, it is necessary to organize this activity so that it brings not only benefit to the child, but also pleasure.

Brain gymnastics

The urgency of the problem of the growing number of children with learning disabilities is reflected in the Federal State Educational Standard (FSES), which came into force in January 2014 and set teachers and educators the task of developing children’s creative potential, intelligence, independence and developing conditions for successful learning. One form of such work is kinesiology, which is also called “brain gymnastics.” Its use comes from Indian yoga and folk finger games of Ancient Rus'.

Modern kinesiological exercises for preschoolers can activate the activity of various parts of the cerebral cortex through movement and, above all, are aimed at developing the corpus callosum, which connects the hemispheres of the brain. If it is underdeveloped, then the transfer of information from one hemisphere to the other stops. Spatial orientation is impaired. Solving mathematical problems, imaginative thinking and creativity are impossible for a person, despite the fact that he can speak coherently. The main development of connections between the hemispheres of the brain is formed in girls up to 7, in boys up to 8-8.5 years. To achieve success, you should practice daily. The kinesiology complex for preschoolers includes exercises consisting of 3 consecutive hand positions. Gradually the child remembers them and does them on his own. Classes should be conducted in a friendly atmosphere, preferably with musical accompaniment, aimed at a certain rhythm in performing movements.

In some Russian schools, a total of 25-30 minutes a day are allocated for kinesiological exercises: before the start of classes and during breaks in lessons for 3-5 minutes.

Experts gave names to the exercises: “Rings”, “Frogs”, “Ear-nose”, “Snake” and many others. The movements of the fingers are accompanied by speech and quatrains. Children enjoy these activities.

conclusions

In the age of technological progress and children’s early adoption of phones, tablets and computers, other aspects of child development are regressing. And, first of all, speech suffers. The relationship between fine motor skills and speech, as well as the development of mental processes, has already been established.

Systematic work on the development of fine motor skills is necessary throughout the preschool period, since by the age of seven the areas of the brain responsible for its development have already been formed. A child going to school should be prepared for new loads, in particular to master writing skills, and not learn to hold a pen or pencil correctly. Lack of development of basic skills can lead to unstable self-esteem, inability to build social connections, and poor academic performance.

The children's network will be happy to help develop your child's fine motor skills. A developing subject-spatial environment, highly qualified specialists who love their work with all their hearts, and cozy groups will not leave anyone indifferent.

General developmental classes or specialized programs - the choice is yours. Contact us if your goal is to raise a developed, open, free, inquisitive person.

WHAT METHODS IS BETTER TO CHOOSE

To successfully adapt to school, your child must come to first grade prepared. To do this, you need to take a large-scale approach to developing his abilities. In addition to fine motor skills, it is also necessary to train logical thinking, memory, and expand creativity. A technique that copes well with this task, and also teaches children to quickly count in their heads, is mental arithmetic.

It is based on calculations on special accounts - the abacus. First, kids learn to move the abacus bones, master the operating principle of this instrument, and later try to perform simple mathematical operations on them. When this method of calculation no longer causes difficulties, children learn to imagine the abacus in their minds and count on it. Over time, skills are honed, and kids show amazing results, because they manage to make calculations even faster than adults do on a calculator.

The key feature of mental arithmetic is the simultaneous use of two hemispheres of the brain: the left, which allows you to think logically and analytically, and the right, which is responsible for creativity and creativity. Such a diverse load makes the human brain work more productively, which has a positive effect on a variety of areas of intelligence:

• Memory and memorization are trained, as well as skills in working with information.
• logical thinking and analytical abilities develop.
• Creative potential expands and creative thinking develops.
• the reaction speed increases, allowing you to more quickly respond to tasks and solve them faster.
• Concentration improves, which greatly helps to maintain attention in school lessons.
• interhemispheric connections are formed, allowing you to study more effectively at school and at home.

In addition, mental arithmetic is an excellent fine motor skills trainer and a means of learning how to quickly count in your head without using a calculator. The advantages that this technique provides make it one of the most effective programs for the development of children of preschool and school age.

Learning mental arithmetic is a great way to prepare for school. The motor and intellectual development of the child, which can be achieved through this program, will become an important basis for later life. Mental arithmetic skills will be preserved forever, which means that even in adulthood, this technique will again and again help you achieve success in any endeavor.