How Play Builds Fine Motor Skills
I first heard the term “fine motor development” when I was doing my Early Childhood Educator training in the late 1980s. I learned that kids need lots of opportunities to strengthen the little muscles in their hands and fingers so they could hold a pencil to write neatly, tie their shoes, button their clothes, and open lids, etc. To help kids build these little muscles, early childhood educators would make playdough and set up water or sand tables where kids could squish, pour, and scoop their way to stronger hands.
Times have changed. Playdough, sand, and water are still popular in early childhood settings, and you’ll also see creative uses of household items like tongs and clothespins to build fine motor skills. But you might also find tracing worksheets to encourage pencil control as well as mass-produced toys specifically designed for fine motor skill development. And let’s not forget the popular trend of themed sensory bins filled with rice and toys that encourage kids to scoop and sift neatly within the confines of a small plastic box. These bins often follow a theme, like Halloween or Spring, meaning you’ll need space to store the ones that are out of season. Building little muscles has become big business.
As an Early Childhood Educator and a Reading Tutor, I recognize how important fine motor skills are for literacy, so it’s no wonder so many teachers (me included) and parents have opted for special activities, toys, and worksheets to make sure kids are getting the practice they need. But I recently ran across a quote from Maria Montessori that made me rethink the activities we use to build these skills.
In a lecture she gave in 1946, she said this: “Movement of the hand is essential. Little children revealed that the development of the mind is stimulated by the movement of the hands. The hand is the instrument of the intelligence. The child needs to manipulate objects and to gain experience by touching and handling.”
I don’t know too much about the Montessori method, but it seems to me that Maria Montessori is not advocating for kids to use their hands to build up their fine motor skills. She’s suggesting that kids need to use their hands to build their intelligence. When they fill cups, pat sand, squeeze sponges, or smash playdough, they’re learning about the world. In other words, as they’re playing, they’re growing their brains.
Research backs up Maria Montessori’s 1946 claim. When kids play, they develop critical thinking skills, they learn language, they learn how to plan and solve problems. They learn how to manage their emotions, take turns, and understand different perspectives. Maria Montessori understood this when she said that hands are the instrument of intelligence. When kids use their hands in their play, they are building their brains.
What about fine motor skills? Where do we fit that into our routine?
You don’t. You don’t need to fit it in because while play is building your kid’s brain, it’s also building your kid’s muscles. Fine motor development is embedded in play! We don’t have to set up special activities or buy special toys. We don’t have to fit it in between recess and lunch or between soccer practice and dinner. Play does the work of building brains, like Maria Montessori said, but it also builds muscles (and coordination, balance, and more!).
As I write this, I think about my childhood. Growing up in the 1970s to immigrant parents, we didn’t have money for any extras, so our toys were simple. Little cars that we played with in a pile of dirt outside. Puzzles and games that were always left out on the table. A bucket of basic Lego. A few dolls. Instead of a play kitchen, I played in the kitchen. Instead of playdough, my mom gave me a piece of bread dough that I squished, rolled, and poked before pressing it into a little cake pan to make my own muffin while she baked bread. Then she would fill the sink with a bit of soapy water, and I would stand on a chair and scoop and pour with real measuring cups and spoons, washing them with the dish brush and drying them with a towel. My mom never heard of fine motor development, but she let me play, and through play, my hands and fingers became strong.
There’s nothing wrong with focused fine motor activities or seasonal sensory bins with tinted rice, if that’s what you and your kids enjoy. But they’re not necessary. Play is necessary. If your kids are building with blocks, dressing dolls, driving little cars on the floor, pouring and scooping water in the bathtub, making crafts, digging in sand, climbing, gathering sticks, and drawing with sidewalk chalk, they are building their fine motor skills through play. That’s enough for most kids. (If you’re worried that your child’s fine motor development is delayed, speak to their teacher and doctor).
If you want some inspiration for summertime play activities that encourage kids to explore, discover, and learn with their hands, please check out my guide, available for free until the end of August. These activities build brains and strengthen little muscles at the same time. Most of the activities use typical household items and whatever you find outside in nature. Use what you have available to you and let play do its job. Click below for your free downloadable guide to Summer Nature Play Ideas.
