Using Creative Materials to Develop Hand Strength

During the school holidays Immy had lots of fun with new (and familiar) creative materials. Nothing unusual about that…except I had an ulterior motive. I had noticed that Immy uses quite light pressure when writing and I wanted to provide lots of opportunity for her to develop strength in her fingers, hand and arm.

These sticky mosaics that she received for Christmas were perfect for developing both finger strength and precision. We also made fresh playdough (one of my favourite hand strengthening activities) and created gourmet ‘meals’ (those playdough spaghetti makers are hard work) and had fun creating playdough pictures.

By providing lots of different creative media, Immy had opportunity to experiment with all sorts of levels of pressure required for mark making… these face paint crayons were one of her favourites.

I also looked for  opportunities for creating on a vertical surface as a means to develop hand and wrist strength and stability. We used fresh chalk for writing and drawing on the blackboard, painted with watercolours and acrylic paints at the easel,

and had fun drawing with (new to her) crayon rocks on the frame wallpaper that I made for her (inspired by this post over at The Artful Parent).

I love that creative materials provide such a fun and engaging means of encouraging so many different types of learning – with the boundless potential for everything from fine motor to communication skills, emotional development to thinking and reasoning skills.

What have you been creating with your children recently?

Related Posts

• 10 Pre-Writing Activities for Under 5s
• Pre-Writing Activities: Hand Strengthening
• Active Learning Through Messy Play