Children not only need, they also WANT to move! Movement develops both gross and fine motor skills and our experience shows - building blocks can be a great part of this development process!
“The best way for you to help promote these and other hand-related skills is to provide your child with a wide range of materials to manipulate as their imagination dictates.”
Yes, through play, children practice and perfect control and coordination of the main body movements and smaller movements, such as hands and fingers, and it is important to remember that “hand skills develop in a pattern – you have to be able to do the larger movements before you can have control and accuracy. In nursery, watch how many different ways children use their hands without even thinking about it. It’s vital to offer an exciting environment where little fingers cannot resist getting involved” and “when given ample opportunities to play with a variety of interesting materials, young children will grow many new and exciting ways!”
That is something we all want, so lets look at 3 ways how to develop fine motor skills with the help of building blocks:
1. Stacking up the blocks or as we call it - building BIG! This is one of those times when children let their imagination flow and move their fingers, palms, toes, and etc. without even realizing - just by being excited about the activity!
2. Using building blocks as trays for smaller things. Grabbing some smaller objects, e.g. mini animal toys or little beads, requires a lot of concentration and precision - this is a great way how to develop fine motor skills without actually realizing it.
3. Writing and drawing on the blocks. Yes, at the beginning it could be called “writing”, but it actually doesn't matter, because the essence is the kid trying to hold the pen, trying to draw a straight line, make it look like a letter, animal or house. Ask your kid to decorate the house or ship he/she built, and just sit back and watch, how his/her little hands try to do their best. Don't forget to praise and discuss how he/she is doing!
With some encouragement your kid will be eager to do things and to move around on his/her own. If the attitude and appraisals are right, their eagerness to try and see new things will lead their way of fine motor skill development with not much effort to invest.