Motor Skills

Motor skills are easy...if it's fine motor skills you are trying to hone in on try have him play with legos (the small ones) or blocks. Using a smaller type toy really defines fine motor skills because it makes them use only one or two fingers and their hand-eye coordination. You can also give him something like dry cheerios to eat as a snack. Large motor skills are more like playing kickball or catch with a larger ball...which makes him use his bigger muscles.

Now social skills is a whole different department. I would like to know this myself. My daughter is 15 and I put her in all kinds of sports, dance classes, etc...and she still lacks social skills. I think she learned that from me. A psyciatrist friend of mine says that children learn their "social skills" within the first 2 years of their lives. And yes...that was me the first 2 years of her life. Good Luck!!

Playing with clay really helped my son with his fine motor skills. He still struggles a bit with his handwriting even at 9 but taking piano lessons has really made a difference. I don't know where you live but there is a gymnastics place near where I live that has a class on Thursdays from 11-12 and it is only $25.00/month. It is great if you home school, too. It is cheap and the instructor gives them a lot of time on the balance beam, the bars, a trampoline. It is great. If you are interested, email me and I will tell you more.

Hi C.! I am an Educational Consultant for Usborne Children's Books. We have a lot of hands on activities to progress your son's motor skills. You can check them out on my site at www.ubah.com/X2733. One of my son's had fine motor skill problems. His preschool teacher had him to tear pieces of colored paper into tiny bits and glue them on poster board like making a collage. It really helped his finger development. Hope this helps.

B. Deck
www.ubah.com/X2733
____@____.com

Hi C.,
You could purchase some of those tracable books from Wal-mart. They help with writing the alphabet as well as numbers. For social skills, try taking him to your local YMCA (if you have one) or places that he could spend about an hour with other children. See if your area has recreational programs for children to attend. Be blessed!!

C.,

I have taught my kids sign language for two reasons: 1)It develops their fine motor skills, 2) They are late talkers. Playdough, coloring, writing, etc are also very good. Playhousedisney.com has a lot of stuff for kids to do. I let my daughter get on the computer from time to time to play with stuff. For gross motor, go to the park, play with him and show him how things are done. School has started and maybe a preschool can also help him in some areas that he may need a little extra help.

The library has a bunch of puzzles and books that you can check out. You can also play with them in the children's section of the library. They have kids activities and reading time, etc. and most of that is free.
M.

Have you tried sports or other activities to get him involved both in terms of motor skills and socially? My 5 1/2 year old started taekwondo at 31/2 years old. She learned gross motor skills and also made friends. Now, she is additionally in soccer and we hope she will learn team work. Last night was her first practice. Have a blessed day. C.

I live near Dover, DE and there is program called Parents as Teachers that offer a semi organized play group that focuses on child development. The Library also has story time with arts & crafts afterwards. I also take my girls to a play ground or restaurant area for lunch once a week. They get to use a variety of motor skills just playing. They also play with children they just met like a long lost friends.

Good morning,
Are you wanting to develop his fine motor or gross motor skills? For fine motor; hae him color or you write his name (or other words) with a highlighter and have hime trace the letters so he learns proper latter formation. Also for fine motor have him sort small objects. Have him move goldfish crackers or cheerios from one container to the next one at a time. the reward for doing this is he gets to eat them :) For gross motor, take him to the park and have him climb. or play with him in the back yard with a ball. put it at one end of the yard, have him run and pick it up, then have him put it on the step or where ever. Good luck to you

If your finances permit, Gymboree has fun programs/classes for kids his age. He can play on the different pieces of equipment and make new friends with the other kids. I don't know their exact web address, but if you google "Gymboree Play and Music", you should be able to find it. Also, to develop fine motor skills, give him as many opportunities as possible to button, zipper, snap, etc... his clothes.

drawing and practice writing are things that can be done to work on fine motor skills. Any thing that requires picking or moving around things small. Even moving magnics on the fridge or magnetic board. So also blocks. Large motor skills is like riding a bike. running and doing things like that.

Join a moms club, or go to the park or somewhere there are other kids. For motor skills, are you talking about fine motor or gross motor skills? Running, jumping, climbing, etc are good for gross motor. For fine motor, coloring, cutting with scissors, playdoh or clay, etc are good activities. Google preschool lesson plans for many things to color or cut out.

fine motor can be helped with picking up coins and putting them in a piggy bank. play dough and you could have a play dough party and encourage social time. playing cards can help little fingers. crafts with noodles and cutting things out with scissors are great too.