Hand-eye Coordination
Well-developed hand-eye coordination is one of the most essential motor skills children need as they enter formal school. Good hand-eye coordination will help make reading and writing come easier for children, not to mention help them in a variety of daily tasks and play skills. Here are some activities you can do to help your kids develop great hand-eye coordination skills:
- Beanbag toss. Throwing a beanbag into the air and catching it again is an excellent hand-eye coordination exercise. You can also toss beanbags in a bin or try to hit them with a beach racket. Allow your kids to stand really close to the targets while doing these exercises. You can start moving them further away as they gain more skill and confidence.
- Beading. Beading is a wonderful way to practice fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. For children around three years of age, a sturdy beading thread with a reinforced end is appropriate. The holes of the beads should be large enough to spot easily. Make sure that the beads are large enough not to pose a choking hazard, and make sure they don’t do this unguided.
- Sorting buttons. Hand your kids a container full of multi-colored buttons. Encourage them to sort the buttons into color heaps. Don’t forget to remind them that the buttons are not meant to be eaten, and never leave them unsupervised while doing this activity.
- Play dough. Molding play dough not only encourages hand-eye coordination; it is also a fantastic way to strengthen hand muscles. Let your kids build their own figures or use cookie cutters to make different shapes. You can also make a model (such as a nest with bird’s eggs; a snake, or an orange) and ask your kids to duplicate your play dough creation.
Hand-eye coordination develops through complex neurological processes. The more opportunities a child gets to practice this skill, the more adept he or she will become at it. In practicing your child’s hand-eye coordination skills, don’t forget to make activities fun and engaging!
