Ways to Help Your Child Develop Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills play an important role in a child’s development and success in the classroom. Children who experience issues with these skills have a hard time developing strong muscles in their hands and wrists, leading to hand fatigue and complications with writing.  This can also take a toll on their self esteem.

Playing with your child at home, is one of the most important ways to help them strengthen these muscles. Get them excited about learning something new by introducing them to these fun (and effective!) activities.

String Macaroni: Making macaroni necklaces is a great way to encourage creativity in your child, while working on their hand-eye coordination. Have them choose from different sizes of pasta to strengthen their muscles and create a personalized piece. Don’t have any pasta handy? Beads and cut-up pieces of straws are a great alternative, giving you the same outcome.

Play With Play-Dough: Play-dough has always been a fun kid favorite, and it’s actually beneficial for them too! The soft, squeezable texture is not only perfect for stretching finger muscles, but for helping your child overcome sensory issues as well. Having them use both hands to roll balls or pound the dough will also promote bilateral coordination.

Color With Broken Crayons: Think again before you throw out that bin of old, broken crayons! Holding fragments of crayons actually helps your child develop the proper grip. Instructing them to color in small circles while pinching the crayon will build muscle endurance and dexterity.

Punch Holes: One of the biggest obstacles your child will face when entering preschool is learning to cut. Using a hole punch allows them to develop the skills required for cutting and writing. These hole punching activities are a great way to develop the arches of the hand and provide stability of the fingers--and they’re fun too!

At Miss Sue’s Nursery School, our prime educational goal is the development of the whole child — socially, emotionally, physically and educationally. A multi-sensory, holistic approach to learning is provided through play, art, music and physical activities. To learn more about the school and give your child the best pre-k experience, give us a call at 516-938-0894.

Toys That Help Development

Fact: some may think that playtime doesn’t have any long term benefits. However, playtime is a very important step in every child's development! Not only is your child having fun — but they’re also learning about the world around them, thanks to toys! Not sure how effective they are? Let us explain their impact:

Types of Play:

When observing playtime, there are two types of play that every child will experience. From Cooperative Play to Active Physical Play, both share a supporting role in your child’s development process. Here at Miss Sue’s, we know the importance of both and incorporate them into our daily schedule — but what are they exactly? 

• Cooperative Play- At Miss Sue's, we encourage children to play together as a group, since it helps children strengthen their social skills! An example of cooperative play involves two or more children playing a game together, such a puzzle or board game!

• Active Physical Play- Toddlers have enough muscle to participate in active physical play with their peers! Active Physical Play strengthens motor skills and hand-eye coordination tremendously — and is an important step of the development process. An example of active physical play is a child using a small toy car or truck!

Toys That Help Development:

After learning about the important types of play that each child participates in on a daily basis, there are a series of toys that help to continue the development of your child. Below are examples of the following toys that foster development:

• Puppets 
• Dolls
• Character Toys
• Rhythmic Musical Instruments
• Toy Cars and Trucks
• Puzzles
• Books 

At Miss Sue’s Nursery School, our prime educational goal is the development of the whole child — socially, emotionally, physically and educationally. A multi-sensory, holistic approach to learning is provided through play, art, music and physical activities. To learn more about the school and give your child the best pre-k experience, give us a call at 516-938-0894.

Best Ways to Boost Your Child's Memory

Fact: sometimes young children may have a hard time remembering things. The reason is that their memory is still in the process of being developed. If you’re looking for a way to improve your child’s memory, then here are some helpful tips to know!

Be Repetitive

Believe it or not, repetition is a positive factor when it comes to memory exercises! When talking to your child, don't be afraid to repeat yourself — because this will be the key ingredient when it comes to improving a child’s memory. To further elaborate: when your child hears something more than once, it will become ingrained in their memory. One of the best ways to practice repetition is to short book to your child. When you finish reading the book, you can then ask your child to tell you their favorite sections of the story. This is a great (and fun) way to boost your child’s memory skills!

Listen To Music

Presenting music to your child at a young age can actually help strengthen their memory! Studies have shown that children are more likely to remember data when it is presented with an accompanying melody; think of sing-along videos featuring their favorite cartoon characters. If you want to take it a step further, you can sing messages to your child and encourage your child to create their own tunes when responding! Not only is this a great way to increase your child’s memory, but it will also entice their love for music, too!

Give Positive Feedback

When your child accomplishes a new task, it's important to give them positive feedback! After all, children are more likely to recall positive feedback than negative feedback. They will certainly remember what they did to receive that kind of praise, too!

At Miss Sue’s Nursery School, our prime educational goal is the development of the whole child — socially, emotionally, physically and educationally. A multi-sensory, holistic approach to learning is provided through play, art, music and physical activities. To learn more about the school and give your child the best pre-k experience, give us a call at 516-938-0894.