Developing Fine Motor Skills

Helping our children develop fine motor skills involves the coordination of their small muscle movements. These are abilities which usually take practice over time to flourish. It's always fun to promote learning through play, so here are some activities that can help begin the process.

• Puzzles. These can be had inexpensively and for any level of development. I love the old wooden puzzles, but we have also played with foam, plastic, and cardboard puzzles.


• Blocks. We started with learning to stack very large blocks, then moved on to building with smaller blocks. In this category I would also include the large Mega Bloks, moving on to Legos as the child gets older.


• Beads. You can start with stringing large beads on yarn or string and, in lieu of beads, it's always a treat to make necklaces by stringing cereal such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios.


• Playdough. Forming shapes, rolling out the dough, using cookie cutters to make different figures all help develop fine motor skills.


• Lacing cards. Threading brightly colored laces through small holes to make outlines of shapes is an excellent exercise to get little fingers moving.


• Paint. A fun beginner activity is having your child take a large paintbrush, dip it in a bucket of water, and "paint" the exterior of the house. Outside or inside, let them have a large paint brush and create free art on big sheets of paper; later on, move to actually painting in the lines of a picture in a paint book.


• Magna Doodles. What fun to be able to write whatever you want and immediately wipe it away and start over again. My girls still take their small magna-doodles in the car on trips and have fun playing games on them.


• Lite Brite. Putting the small pegs into the holes is yet another great method for practicing hand-eye coordination.

What other ideas do you have for promoting the development of fine motor skills?

This post was originally published on March 10, 2009.

Family Devotions

In the past, we have used a variety of books and resources for our family devotions. We recently began A Family Devotional Guide: Read the Bible by Its Stories (Crown Christian Publications).


There are twelve volumes; each volume contains thirty-one lessons. Each lesson consists of a Bible passage to read, questions to answer and a weekly memory verse.


Our children have grown up hearing Sunday School lessons, sitting in children's church and going to Vacation Bible School. They attend a Christian school where they have Bible class every day and chapel every week. Bible stories have been read to them at home from the time they were infants.

However, I appreciate this study because our children are actually hearing the words from the Bible rather than listening to the story told from a teacher's perspective or put into the words of a storybook author. While they are familiar with the general theme of each story, interesting discussions can begin as the actual verses are read.

As we studied Noah, our girls became interested in figuring out facts such as how long he and his family were actually on the ark. They also gained a new appreciation for just how old Abraham and Sarah actually were when Isaac was born!

The included questions are helpful as well; it's not just "who did what," but asks for a little more explanation. Some of the pages offer a series of quotes and our girls have to tell us which person said that phrase in the passage.

I am always excited about promoting Bible knowledge in our children, while at the same time having Bible characters be seen as real people just like them and giving them Biblical principles to apply to situations they are facing.

How is your family studying the Bible?

(This is not an affiliate link and I'm not receiving anything free for promoting this series - it's just a resource that our family has found to be helpful and I wanted to share it with you. If you'd like to learn more about this series, you can click here.)

Of Breezes and Seasons

The cool breeze that finally arrived here in the South sent us scurrying for sweaters and wafted the scent of chili simmering in the slow cooker to every corner of the house. An apple pie, half eaten, graces the kitchen counter, while a basketful of Golden Delicious and Gala varieties beckon us with their colorful skins.

The season, again, is changing.

This one brings.....

....celebrations, as two precious nephews each celebrate their first birthday;
....a touch of sadness at seeing an ailing grandmother no longer able to live on her own;
....separation, as a neighbor heads overseas to offer his services for our country's protection;
....anticipation, as our long-awaited vacation draws ever nearer.

As a child, how slowly the days passed. When I bemoaned the length of time I must wait for some event to arrive, my dad would gently remind me that "everything finally gets here." These days, the moments I would savor seem to slip through my fingers' grasp before I can enjoy them to their fullest.

This autumn, may I feel deeply, live fully, worship meaningfully, and love completely.

photo courtesy public domain pictures

Discernment

What can we learn from the Proverbs 31 woman as we see her in verse sixteen?

"She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."

The Virtuous Woman is Discerning.

She is not impetuous, heedlessly making a purchase without researching and considering the options. Once the field is hers, she puts her skills to good use by making it productive.

Discernment is defined as having keen insight or good judgement. As I seek to emulate this woman, I see three questions she may have considered as she exercised discernment in her decisions.

1. Is the field worth the price that is being asked? In the same manner, as I make decisions in life, I must decide if the cost I am being asked to pay (be it monetarily or time wise) is worth what I will receive in return.


2. Will it be right for my purpose? Obviously she sought to plant a vineyard, so she had to determine if it was even possible to grow grapes in this location. As for me, I should ensure that the activities I pursue lead me to my ultimate purpose - to know and love God more.


3. Can I use this to improve myself and my family? I also must seek to use any abilities God has given me to help me reach the goals I have set personally as well as for my family.

What tips do you have for practicing discernment?

Read previous posts in this series about the virtuous woman here.

Photo courtesy public domain pictures.

PaperBack Swap

Since our family loves reading books, we are always looking for inexpensive ways to add new selections to our library.

It's been awhile since I blogged about PaperBackSwap, but it is one of my favorite places to get books.

Periodically I go through our bookshelves and remove titles that we no longer use or want. I go to the PaperBackSwap website and post them (a very simple process) for free. When another member requests one of my books, I download and print the pre-addressed wrapper and mail the book at my cost - usually minimal since I can send it via USPS Media Mail.

Once the recipient notifies PaperBackSwap that he/she has received the book, I am given a credit which I can then use towards getting a book of my own. You can also create a "wish list" if there are books you would like to have that are not currently listed in the system. Once a book on your list becomes available, you are notified by e-mail and can use one of your credits for that book.

If you'd like to check it out you can click this link: Swap Your Used Books - PaperBackSwap.com I'll be visiting the site this weekend to see if some of the parenting books you recommended yesterday are available!

The original version of this post was published on August 12, 2009. The link to PaperBackSwap is an affiliate link.