For my field experience this semester I have been observing a Kindergarten classroom at a Washington County Elementary school. One of the students joined the class late, beginning in mid-October. His family had recently moved, and his entry into this classroom is his first school experience. Unfortunately, many of his developmental skills are behind where they should be, due to lack of exposure. While observing this student and his struggles to integrate into the classroom with a late start and skills that are not on level with the rest of his class, I begam looking into some activities that could be used to encourage his development. One area that I focused on was fine motor skills, as his lack of fine motor skills has significant impact on his ability to complete tasks with his class, such as drawing, writing, and cutting. These basic skills can be supported by a variety of activities to encourage muscle development in the shoulders, arms, and hands. Some of these activities could be used in the classroom, as whole group activities or independent work with an aid or classroom volunteer. Many could also be used at home, and should be provided to the parents to encourage working with him at home to strengthen his muscles and fine motor skills.
Particular focus should be placed on isolating the tripod fingers, which is necessary for proper pencil grip, handwriting, and scissor use. There are many resources on the web for activities to strengthen fine motor skills, links I'm including below include ideas and recommendations from teachers and Occupational Therapists.
http://www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/kindergarten-hand-exercises.html
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/movement-coordination-issues/8-fun-ways-to-build-fine-motor-skills
http://theimaginationtree.com/2013/09/40-fine-motor-skills-activities-for-kids.html
https://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/child-development/help-your-child-build-fine-motor-skills
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post on developing fine motor skills for your new student. I currently have a student in my first grade class with an Other Health Impairment and she, too, lacks fine motor skills. She regularly complains about her hands hurting or being tired after writing. One thing that I do is in the morning prior to the morning announcements or any down time, IE if she needs a break from the academic work, I give her play dough. She then makes little balls out of the play dough, rolling it between her thumb and pointer finger, and sticks them in a row on her desk. This helps develop the muscles she'll need to be a strong writer and gives her a break mentally during the day. Thank you for posting all the resources you found. I will go over them and see what I can implement in my class!
Kyler,
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea, I like that it's something simple that she can do on her own at her desk, reducing the need for extra disruption to class routines. I will be sharing this idea with my cooperating teacher, I think this is something that could be really helpful for the student I was observing!
Great job of creating an attractive and useful blog!
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