Fine Motor Activities::Valentine's Day Themed Lesson::Tweezing Letters

This is the first in a series of fine motor activity videos we are starting.  Fine motor activities are extremely important with preschool age children.  Such important functions such as writing, cutting, and more require the coordination and a certain amount of strength in the small muscles of the hands and fingers.  In addition, fine motor activities require intention and concentration.  The fine motor activities we will post can be modified to make them easier or harder depending on the age and skill of the child.  While I currently teach a two year old class, the majority of my students, aside from those who have just turned two, can tweeze (although my class uses plastic, round-tipped tweezers and pom poms).  This lesson is appropriate for children three and older.  If you have questions about how you can change this lesson for your unique situation please comment or write us!

In the following lesson, students will tweeze letters out of an ice tray as a fine motor activity. Fine motor activities often serve the dual purpose of developing strength and coordination while building concentration skills.

Materials:

ice tray (Valentine's heart ice tray was purchased at the dollar store)

tweezers

paper

red marker

laminator, contact paper, or tape (if you wish to protect the letters)

Preparation:

Cut rectangles that are small enough to fit into each shape of the ice tray and that leave room to maneuver the tweezers in.  Draw a small "V" so that the rectangles resemble the back of a letter.  When placing the lesson out, make sure each heart has a letter in it and place a container (small bowl or condiment cup) to collect the letters as they tweeze them out.

Our YouTube Video demonstrating the process:

For Younger Children:

You can make it easier for them by using pom poms and plastic tweezers (can be purchased at a discount school supply store).  Here is an example of the easy grip type we use in my class with two to three year olds:

http://www.learningresources.com/product/120033.do?src=GOOGLEPS&gclid=CLTm98LAwrwCFQHNOgodzggAkQ

Penguin Potato Printing

This is a winter potato printing lesson.  I do currently teach a two to three year old class.  My children completed this lesson with amazing results, although we limited it to one penguin.  Some variations of this you could do depending on the level of difficulty your children may need would be to include a background (snow/water).

Vocabulary to Introduce:

printing
acyrlic

Materials:

paper plates

school glue

potatoes

acrylic paint (black, white, and orange)

google eyes

Preparation:

Slice potatoes in half and pair them on plates making sure that one is smaller than the other to fit inside the body for a white belly.  Put white and black paint on the plates, spreading them to correct size with the potato intended for each.  Either place the orange on separate plates or save until the children begin to finish with their penguins.


Our YouTube Video demonstrating the process: