14 Education
Fine Motor Fun By Aimee Hart
Pencil control, fine motor skills, precise positioning. These skills that children develop from as young as 10 months have become something of a focus on the Early Years setting at Primary school. The ability to grip, manoeuvre and place seem like skills that children will gain instinctively but without opportunities, they can become overlooked. Studies are inconclusive as to when the ‘dominant hand’ develops. Some believe it is established between the ages of two and four, some believe it is around 18 months
and others believe it begins establishing in the uterus. What this tells me is that each child is different. I am a leftie (proud of it), as is my mother and maternal grandmother. My husband is a righty (common as muck). Our daughter swapped hands quite frequently up until around 18 months when she decided on her right (boo). However, giving children opportunities to develop their own preferred hand might enable them to come to the conclusion quicker.
Fine motor skills are the tools that get children using their hands as effectively as possible. They build up the muscles in the hand to be able to manipulate instruments smoothly. Being able to pick up small objects with two-finger grips, threading beads using two hands in co-ordination and precisely fit shapes into holes are just some of the activities that schools provide to build up fine motor skills. The implications of underdeveloped fine
