Erickson - Improving fine motor skills

SECTION 1

2-3 YEARS

ACTIVITY 7 Duration Between 30 and 60 minutes Number of participants From one child, to small groups of maximum six children Materials • Materials to prepare: tempera paint (natural and atoxic); cardboard tube (toilet paper/paper towel roll); cutter • Object to be threaded: cardboard roll • Materials for threading: yarn, string (40-50 cm in length) Preparation Prepare the material to be threaded using the cardboard rolls that are inside toilet paper or paper towels. Cut them into cylinders of various lengths, paint them and decorate them as desired. In this phase of work it is possible to ask the child to decorate the tubes with their fingerprints.

The Activity Place the painted rolls and yarn (or strings) on the table. Ask the child to hold the string between the thumb and forefinger with one hand and hold one tube with the other. At this point, slowly insert the string into the tube so as to form a necklace or a belt. The object created in this way can be used within the symbolic game, such as in the game of the princess, the shop or the family.

SECTION 2 3-4 YEARS

ACTIVITY 5 Duration From 15 to 30 minutes Number of participants From one child to small groups of no more than four children Materials • Materials to prepare: three plastic containers (small, medium, and large); three bowls of the same size and shape • Materials to pour: different sized pasta (small, medium, and large) • Object for pouring: hands The Activity Fill the three bowls with the different sizes of pasta, so that in the first bowl there is the small pasta, the medium pasta in the second bowl, and large pasta in the third bowl. Place the three empty containers on the table in front of the child, and place the bowls with the pasta in them in between the empty containers and the child, as shown in the figure.

Next, ask the child to transfer the pasta into the respective containers by size and using the upper clamp (thumb-index). This task will have the additional objective of the acquisition of dimensional concepts.

SECTION 3 5-6 YEARS

ACTIVITY 17 Duration From 10 to 20 minutes Number of participants From one to two children Materials • Materials to prepare: none • Materials to be used: white paper size A3; small objects of the same size (Lego bricks, cars, cubes, etc.); chalk; wax crayons; coloured pencils; table The Activity Place a sheet of A3 white paper on the table in front of each child. Place the chosen objects (all the same) on the sheet of paper at a distance of about 10 cm from each other. The child should be seated with his/her feet firmly resting on the ground, his/her shoulders straight and his/her non-dominant hand on the sheet. The table must reach the height of half of the child’s torso. Ask the child to draw, using a colored pencil or chalk, an outline around the object starting from the left, as if drawing waves, as shown in the picture. If necessary, trace the path for the child to follow with your index finger.

Variations You can perform this activity directly on the table, placing the objects on it and placing the child standing in front of it. The child will have to draw, using chalk, an outline around the object starting from the left, as if drawing waves, as shown in the picture.