Pre-Literacy and Puzzles...
Developing Your Child's Hand-Eye Coordination Skills
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...Do you ever stop to consider your child’s literacy or fine motor muscles? Although illiteracy is becoming less common these days, it is still a major concern, worldwide.
If you’re like most parents, you probably read your children books, and encourage those old enough to read, to do so as well. Beyond reading to your child, encouraging reading, you undoubtedly buy them books, and perhaps enroll your child in reading programs.
These are definitely excellent ways to facilitate your child’s ability to learn to read. But they are far from the least you can do to accomplish that goal.
Did you know that hand to eye coordination is not just a development that is important overall for a child, but is actually a necessary skill for learning our written language and your child’s fine motor muscle development? It is true.
One of the most important things to develop for a child’s literacy and written skill is their hand to eye coordination. So how can you help further their development of hand to eye coordination?
You might be surprised to find out it ís very simple. As you know, children learn by playing, and you already will certainly know that there is a plethora of learning and developmental toys. But do you ever think about the learning and developmental value of simple toys, such as puzzles, and building blocks?
So how do toys such as puzzles, building blocks, and others, such as matching games, assist in the learning and development of your child’s pre-literacy stages? By their stimulation, causing your child to look at and discriminate differences.
Taking the puzzle pieces and putting them together takes a lot of problem solving and fine motor muscle usage when they are holding and assembling the pieces. Also children often have a hard time distinguishing parts and putting them together to make a whole.
Puzzles provide a chance to practice this skill. Building blocks help develop those little fingers so that when they begin writing they are not getting tired faster. They are also great for pretend play which can help in many ways to prepare your child for the parts of a story: beginning, middle and end.
While you may begin to rush out for more puzzles, and building blocks, or pretend play toys take a moment to consider the quality of those you’re buying.
If you’re going to go buy some more toys to facilitate your child's future literacy, take the extra time, and extra couple of pounds, and go ahead and get those which were designed to give a little extra learning boost.
Find toys that speak directly to your child and require little explanation and then watch him play and trust that he is learning when given the right tools and environment.
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