Stencils are a great way to encourage children to practice fine motor skills while creating a quick and easy piece of art. However, stencils require some practice and coordination so they can be frustrating at first. here are some tips for using stencils with your preschool child:
- As they are first learning to use stencils, try taping the stencil to the paper so that it doesn’t move around and you are not stuck holding the stencil in place. Once they have mastered this technique, try removing the tape, and show children how to hold the stencil with their non-dominant hand.
- Start with large open shapes several inches wide before attempting to trace small letters, numbers or shapes.
- Allow children to trace the inside of the stencil or simply color it in according to their preference. However, encourage children to try both methods and demonstrate each.
- Try using reverse stencils that require children to trace around the outside of a shape rather than color in an empty space in the middle.
- Experiment with different mediums. Instead of pencils, crayons, or markers, try paint brushes or bingo dabbers.
- Encourage children to make entire scenes using several stencils rather than making just one shape. Adding sky, grass, water, etc. can also get your child’s creative juices flowing.
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 12, 2010
Have you ever watched amusingly as a toddler holds a crayon or pencil? The death grip that is often applied is serves the purpose, but it does not result in a great deal of accuracy. Although this is fine as very young children develop the fine motor skills, particularly the pincer grip, which allows them to hold the implement firmly in place, teaching preschool children the correct way to hold
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 7, 2010
Have you ever dropped a small bead or other tiny object and found it impossible to pick it up because it was so small? Without good fine motor skills, children can encounter this same frustration even when objects are the size of an o-shaped cereal. Practicing this skill, called the pincer grasp, with tweezers can help children master the ability to pick up small objects with their fingers.
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 18, 2010
When you need to write a letter, a list, or even just sign your name, you simply pick up your pencil or pen and write. Unfortunately, it isn’t so simple for a child who is not used to writing. Writing takes many skills which you may not have considered before. Balance, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills are all needed for printing properly. Before your child ever writes her fir
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Written by BRWI Staff on January 21, 2010
When children are around the preschool age, it is important to give them plenty of opportunities to do activities that require them to use their fingers. Activities such as coloring, picking up beads or cereal, and using plastic tweezers are all ways to help children develop their fine motor skills. Another great activity which helps them strengthen these muscles is to use lacing cards. Unfortu
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Written by BRWI Staff on August 10, 2009
As children grow, they seem to naturally practice moving their bodies in different ways simply by playing games that they learn or even make up on their own. Being able to kick a ball, skip, run, and hop are all activities which are certainly important to learn. However, it is very easy to overlook some of the smaller activities which are also vital to their development.
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 7, 2009
Although craft projects can be a lot of fun to complete with your child, not all of our little ones aspire to be the next Van Gogh. In fact, some children are simply not interested in art. If that is the case with your child, you may be struggling to come up with ways for your preschooler to practice his or her fine motor skills. Here are a few activities you can try with your child to try and
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 11, 2009
