How can we help children improve their fine motor control? And why does the skill develop differently in each child?
When we talk about ‘Fine Motor Control’, we mean the way we use our fingers, the way we pic k up things, the way we use a pen or pencil to write. There is much controversy about the way we teach children handwriting and also about the fact that some children have good handwriting whilst others do not. There is also the question in the minds of educationalist: “Do we force children to write too quickly; before they are ready for it?” So what exactly is fine motor control?
Fine motor control is to do with the coordination of the muscles and the skeleton which enable a person to produce small, precise movements. An example of fine motor control is picking up a small object with your thumb and index finger. The opposite of fine motor controls is gross motor control. Gross motor control is about the larger movements that we make; for example beckoning or waving to someone else.
All the movements we make are controlled by the brain, the spinal cord, the nerves and the joints and muscles of our body. Injury to a part of the body can result in lack of fine motor control. Gross motor control is the initial movement that humans make. Fine motor control is a process of development within the neurological system; it involves the smaller muscles in the body. It is an action when the eyes and hand together perform precise manipulative movements.
Fine motor control develops in children as they mature and the rate of that development is used to determine the developmental age of the child. Muscles need to strengthen and combine with coordination to enable the development. If the nervous system matures properly then fine motor control develops naturally.
Type of activities
Most manipulative activities need to use two hands to complete a task. Using two hands is called bi-manual activities. If we use a single hand to complete a manipulative task, we call it a uni-manual activity. The third type of manipulative activity is graphic activities, which include handwriting and drawing.
Between 4 years and 6 years children show the most development in fine motor control. From the ages of 5 to 12 years their fine motor control becomes more complex. Between 5 years and 8 years single finger, hand and wrist movements tend to improve significantly.
Small children benefit from experiences that enable the development of fine motor skills in the hands and fingers. It is important that an environment is created where the child’s dexterity and strength in their hands is increased. A lot of children hold their pencils inappropriately! Is this because children are being forced to write too early – before they are ready to do so?
A child needs strength before he/she can manipulative a pencil on a piece of paper. Working towards building strength can eliminate the development of inappropriate pencil grasp. To increase fine motor control skills in children at KG level, a number of activities that the child undertakes can help:
1. Using play-dough, the child should mould or roll the dough into balls. With the palm of the hands facing each other, the fingers slightly curled, roll the dough into tiny balls, using only the tips of the fingers. Then, using pegs or tooth-picks, make designs in the play dough. These little balls need only be the size of peas.
2. Using play-dough, the child makes a shape, which they then cut with a plastic knife.
3. Get them to tear newspaper into strips, then crush those strips into balls. They can use the balls to stuff something. Maybe as part of an art project.
4. Take a whole sheet of newspaper and see if the child can crunch it up into a ball. This takes a great deal of strength. It helps builds strength.
5. Using an empty squirty bottle (the type you get cleaning fluid or washing-up liquid in), fill it with water and get the child to spray plants, both indoors and out-doors.
6. Get the child to picking up a variety of tiny objects : Polo Mints, small cubes, small soft sweets, using a tooth-pick or improvised tongs, or large tweezers.
7. The shaking of dice in one’s hands whilst cupped and forming an empty space between the palms of the hands.
8. Screwing in screws, using a small size screwdriver.
9. Lacing and stringing beads.
10. Using an eye dropper to pick up coloured water and then drop it on a wet sheet of paper to make designs on paper.
11. Rolling tissue paper into tiny balls. Then gluing the balls onto KG cardboard to form a design.
12. Making an arrangement of items: coins, cards, beads, buttons; then turning these over without moving the object to the edge of the table.
13. Get the children to use finger puppets and tell a story. Each child at circle time can wear the puppets and relate their own story about what they did the day before or on an outing.
When a child uses scissors correctly, cutting activities strengthen muscles which are needed to hold a pencil in the correct position. Scissors need to be used to cut pictures out of magazines. Get the children to make a fringe on the edge of a piece of KG Card and create a table mat. Get them to cut play-dough with scissors. Let them use scissors to shred paper and cut up straws. Use the pieces to create a mosaic art work. Do remember, though, safety is the first priority; so make sure the children know how to use scissors, or let them use plastic ones.
Small children need sensory activities which strengthen the child’s own awareness of his/her hands. These activities might include crab walking, clapping games – both loud and quiet. Blowing bubbles and then clapping hands to try to catch a bubble. Pulling off pieces off “Blu-tac” or putty from a large piece.
Drawing is a tactile medium; something that the child can feel as a sensation. A tray of wet sand, rice or salt and a child can make it’s own tactile mixture. Mix up corn flour with water and when the mixture looks like toothpaste. It can be used. When children drag their fingers through this mixture it works in strengthening visual motor control. Put some small objects like coins, beads into a tray of sand, rice or salt. Tell them to close their eyes and find the objects. This helps develop sensory awareness in the hands.
Which hand is dominant?
We all know that the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. There is always a variation with children, as to which side dominates which hand and which hand is dominant. At the KG level the hand dominance is still developing. To allow this to develop, encourage picking out objects with first one hand then the other hand. Try to ensure that the hand they use reaches over their body. Do not discourage a child in the use of his/her left hand. Allow the natural development of hand dominance to happen. Present the child with items in the middle of the table and see which hand is used. Children need to become aware of right and left at this stage. Use words and games which contain the following:
* “Catch it with your right hand.” * “Kick the ball with your left foot.” * Use the ‘Simon Says’ game.
During painting time get the child to paint or draw a line from one corner to the other corner of the paper in a diagonal fashion. To develop fine motor skills, in preparation for writing, children need to work on a vertical or a near vertical surface. The wrist should be extended – that is, bent back.
Some ideas
Put a large piece of paper on the wall. Have the child use a marker, or crayon. The teacher draws a number and the child traces over the number or line from left to right. They need to trace this figure at least 12 times. Then the child needs to draw the number next to your number.
Play dot to dot; aim for connecting the dots from left to right and from top to bottom.
Use stencils and you will notice that the dominant hand will push the pencil and the non-dominant hand will hold the stencil flat. Have the child work on a chalk-board, using chalk instead of a pencil or a marker. Use the easel for the child to paint on. Encourage horizontal and vertical lines.
Eyes and hand need to work together, to look at an object and hold the object in the line of vision. Find the hidden picture in books, or maze activities.
Get a torch and shine it on the ceiling. Get the children to lie down on their backs and watch the light from left to right, top to bottom and across.
Finally, hand/eye co-ordination, which involves the accurate placement of the pencil and an awareness of direction and space. Draw a circle – throw objects into the circle. Gradually increase the distance from the circle; trying to improving their aim all the time. Play “throw ball” – start with a large squashy ball and increase it to a tennis ball. A large ball is easier to catch than a small ball. Use a simple skittle set to improve eye coordination. Fine motor control can be developed significantly in little children, paving the way to good pencil grip and control. Teachers can do much to pave the way, by creating a KG environment which incorporates the suggestions made. Different children develop at different rates. However, by creating play which develops the hand and enables fine motor control, puts the child on the path to success before they enter the world of writing.
It is a place where we spend hours either when our flight is delayed or when we are receiving and seeing off relatives. An exciting venue, these ports are a nation’s face to the outside world. It is thus, very important for us to ensure that the vicinity is well maintained. Here are a few things we could do…
* Standing and moving in queue, with your baggage and essential papers is an unwritten rule.
* Keep an eye on your baggage and on any strange or unlikely objects you may see.
* If you are the eldest in the family ensure to hold your siblings’ hands so that no one gets lost in the melee.
* If you are not travelling, avoid visiting the airport to pick or drop anyone unless it’s essential. Airports are home to huge crowds — why add to the increasing numbers?
* Getting in and out of the airport calls for some civic rules. Ask your parents not to block exits and entrances by parking the car right in front of them. Cars should be parked in the car park.
* Trolleys once wheeled out or wheeled in must be left in their proper place — either in the existing trolley line or in a corner. Never block exits or entrances with trolleys.
* Cleanliness and safety are two other essentials. Litter of any description like paper cups and biscuit wrappers should be put into trash cans. Follow the security measures in place and raise the alarm whenever you see anything or anyone suspicious.
A universally loved animal, the giant panda is the enduring symbol of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). About 150 cm long and between 100 to 150 kg in weight, pandas are extremely close to both bears and raccoons anatomically and behaviourally. But this peaceful member of the bear family is under threat due to habitat fragmentation as well as poaching.
Destruction of habitat
Inhabitants of Southwest China (Gansu, Shaanxi, and Sichuan Provinces) to the east of the Tibetan plateau, there are just about 1,600 pandas in the wild today. And as panda habitat continues to be destroyed, wildlife experts say that the over 50 Reserves created by the Chinese government to protect over 10,400 sq. km of panda habitat, are not enough and more needs to be done. Classified as bears, but with the digestive system of carnivores, these mammals who nurse their young, have adapted to a vegetarian diet that is almost exclusively bamboo (10,000 kgs of bamboo a day). However, in some cases they may eat small mammals and fish. And did you know that pandas can spend almost 16 hours just eating? In fact they have huge heads that house extra large zygomatic arches in their skulls to allow for the mastication muscles to fit!
Vegetarian by choice
But the very diet of this beast is in itself one of the biggest threats to its survival in the wild. Bamboo like most plants does not flower every year. Each species of bamboo has a different flowering cycle and what’s more extraordinary is the fact that a bamboo plant dies as soon as it flowers. What’s worse, every plant cultivated from the same lineage over the generations, regardless of where it is in the world — dies at the exact same time. The end result no food for the panda. Mercifully this does not happen very often, but when it did some years ago, other bamboo species had to be imported to subsidise the wild panda’s diet.
Today, the giant panda’s survival remains uncertain. But in its march towards ‘development’ and the future, one hopes that China is able to ensure this animal’s future as well.
The run-up to CAT should be spent working out the questions from the mocks that one has taken over the past few months.
The most frequently asked question by anxious students at this point of time, with barely a week left for CAT, is “What should be done in terms of preparation during the last few days?” Let’s do this section-wise.
The Quantitative section is the one that most non-mathematics students fear, not to mention the scores of engineers. A plan for the next few days should involve the following:
Students should revise the basics across all chapters. This is recommended because CAT has over the years tested students on their ability to comprehend basics rather than the ability to tackle advanced problems.
Do not focus on the time taken to solve the question but rather on the understanding of the method used and the principle involved.
The run-up to CAT should be spent working out the questions from the mocks that one has taken over the past few months. Mock tests have a standard that is very close to the actual CAT and the learning that one can derive by working them out would be immense.
The Data Interpretation section is the one that requires the least amount of concepts to be learnt and practiced.
The plan for this section can be as follows:
The basic study material and concepts of speed math to be revised (conversion of fractions to percentages and vice versa, quick addition, percentages computation, etc.)
The next stage would be to practice the sets given in the mock CATs, which should go on until the week of CAT.
The emphasis here is more on identifying the approach that one should take after looking at the data rather than on the actual solving of the questions.
Students should try and solve regular puzzles. This is because CAT seems to be moving more towards the logical puzzles than anything else, if the trend of the past few years is any indication.
The section that derailed the hopes of man-a-student in 2006 was the Verbal/RC section and things might just be the same this year. A plan for this section for the next 7 days should be:
Allot at least 1.5 hours everyday to reading. This could be from the mainstream newspapers, weekly magazines or from online sources. In this case it would be a great idea to avoid tabloid newspapers i.e. newspapers that revel in sensationalising news and not on the good old reporting. This activity should go on till the day of the CAT.
Some good online websites with articles spanning the entire spectrum of topics given in CAT like www.magportal.com are excellent for this kind of preparation. The reading of articles helps one acclimatise to the different kinds of passages and thereby reduces the ‘alien’ factor in the exam.
The other area to focus on would be grammar as quite a few questions come from this. Good old grammar books like ‘Wren & Martin’ are still work the best. A quick revision is the key here. Some students are unduly perturbed by the questions on vocabulary as they believe that preparing for it is like swimming across an ocean. At this point it is futile to try and improve on vocabulary. However as one reads articles on a daily basis, this activity itself could form the basis for new words.
Students should understand that the time on hand is more than sufficient to crack CAT provided one follows the above guidelines.
On the D-day...
The time for experimentation is over now. As long as you know that the strategy you are using is giving you rewards, don’t change it.
Be decisive
Start with stuff that you are familiar with. Decide in two readings whether you are going to attempt the question or not.If you want to identify the questions to attend, it is imperative you read all the questions.
Avoid wild guessing. Bring it down to two choices and weight your options. If history says you are a poor guesser even when you are down to two options, just leave it.
Expect surprises
The surprise is more in terms of format than spirit. They will change the structure somehow. Finally relax. Many a time, high potential students have not made it to the IIMs because they could not handle the pressure.
Validating Jawaharlal Nehru's belief in the power of the very young, are a bunch of teenagers in Delhi.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that: “The sole aim of journalism should be service. The newspaper is a great power, but just as an unchained torrent of water submerges the whole countryside and devastates crops, so an uncontrolled pen serves, but, to destroy. If the control is from without, it proves more poisonous than want of control. It can be profitable only when exercised from within.” Going by this line of reasoning, how many publications in the world today would be able to measure up?
While Gandhiji tried to uphold these ideals when he published Young India and Harijan, they seem completely out of sync with today’s consumerist generation and one that is dominated by the big, corporate media. However, there is a bunch of teens who are trying hard to live up to the ideals of their beloved Bapu. They produce The Yamuna, a newspaper presented by the Gandhi Smriti. Launched in 2007, as part of the Gandhi Media Literacy Programme initiated by the Smriti, the newspaper is in its second year of publication.
A team of more than 30 teenagers, mostly girls, from across India write stories of social relevance during the months when the team members don’t have exams.
Commenting on the high number of girls on the journal’s editorial team, Veda Vyas Kundu, a member of Gandhi Smriti and the co-ordinator of the newspaper, put it this way, “We experience reverse gender discrimination here. Most of the team members are girls.”
Gandhi Smriti members go to various schools and hand pick the children who are to be part of the publication’s team. Says Kundu, “We work with several schools all over the country as a part of the Gandhi Media Literacy Programme. That way we are able to scout for students. The goal of the Literacy Programme is to develop in children a critical understanding and functioning of the media. Media production is also an important process in which we encourage the children to participate. We go and talk about the newspaper to students. There is no sifting process. Every applicant is selected. But there are many who drop out midway. In the end only those who are interested stay on.”
The newspaper’s printing schedule is set according to the examination schedules of the children. The number of pages in each issue ranges between 16 and 20 and includes opinions, interesting features, lively interviews and colourful caricatures and cartoon strips.
Even though the children have varied and contemporary interests the coverage of various social issues is governed by a sound understanding of good and bad journalism. Surprisingly, though, not many want to pursue a career in journalism. Lamba herself is no exception. She says, “I want to specialise in science. I am not looking at being a media professional. I am just not interested in the profession.”
The students keep in touch with each other through email. The story ideas are decided democratically through debates and discussions. Where emails cannot be sent or accessed, the Gandhi Smriti co-ordinators become the messengers.
Working with the newspaper, the girls have developed a keen sense of news along with an idea of what can or cannot be termed as responsible journalism. Recently, The Yamuna team members met with the CEO of India TV, Rajat Sharma and talked to him on various issues like the business of news, social responsibility of the media, and even the working of his channel. The youngsters captured their interaction with Sharma in the article ‘Of Sense and Sensationalism’ published in the September 2008 issue.
Tackling the issue of sensationalism, the article stated: ‘...there is one thing for sure that these channels are aiming at - to be at the top.’ Sharma was quoted as saying, “This is a business, which has to cater to the needs of people. We as media persons are not involved in preaching. This is not our job. But we show such things, which has an impact on society.”
The September issue also tried to figure out what children want to watch on television. A survey, conducted by children in several cities including Delhi, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), Solan (Himachal Pradesh), Bikaner (Rajasthan) was presented. The sample size in every city ranged from 30-150. The survey concentrated on the media usage habits of children spread across many cities in India.
The teenaged girls expressed a critical opinion of the ‘saas-bahu’ daily soaps. Himanshi Diwan, a student of Delhi’s Presentation Convent, argues, “I don’t understand the ‘saas-bahu’ serials. The stories are always about people with a lot of money. But what about the middle class?” Another team member comments with a laugh, “Women don’t sleep with so much make-up on.”
Unfortunately, there won’t be a special issue for Children’s Day on Nov 14 because of the forthcoming exams - year-end and pre-boards - with the next edition of The Yamuna slated for January 2009. In it the children have decided to tackle the issue of multiculturalism. Kundu reveals, “It will be about multiculturalism and identity in India. The children wanted to explore this in the light of the violent incidents in Maharashtra caused by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.”
Developing Fine Motor Control 
When we talk about ‘Fine Motor Control’, we mean the way we use our fingers, the way we pic k up things, the way we use a pen or pencil to write. There is much controversy about the way we teach children handwriting and also about the fact that some children have good handwriting whilst others do not. There is also the question in the minds of educationalist: “Do we force children to write too quickly; before they are ready for it?” 
Mahatma Gandhi once said that: “The sole aim of journalism should be service. The newspaper is a great power, but just as an unchained torrent of water submerges the whole countryside and devastates crops, so an uncontrolled pen serves, but, to destroy. If the control is from without, it proves more poisonous than want of control. It can be profitable only when exercised from within.” Going by this line of reasoning, how many publications in the world today would be able to measure up?
