Parents are the first and most important educators in their child's life. The early years which precede formal schooling are the years that a child learns the rules of making their body work, controlling their body, exploring their world around them and learning how to take care of their most basic needs. These simple activities will help your child master skills that are necessary for hand development.

Strength and stability in the body, shoulders, wrists, and hands are important for hand skill development.
*crawling/hand stands/wheel barrow walking
*push and pull games(tug of war)
*jungle gym: climbing/swinging/hanging
*jumping/bouncing/piggy back rides
*playing or reading while lying on stomach supported on forearms

One of the best positions for hand activities is in the vertical position. In the vertical position, the whole arm must work and the wrist comes naturally into extension.
*easel or chalkboard drawing
*position puzzles or pegboards on a slanted surface
*use playdough on a slanted surface
*magnetic shapes on the refrgerator
*soap finger painting on the bath tub wall

It is important to have daily opportunities to practice using their hands.
During mealtime...
*encourage holding the spoon and fork correctly
*spreading and assembling a sandwich is a great two handed activity
During playtime...
*use finger puppets, string beads, play catch, play games that have chips, cards or dice
During bath time...
*pour water inplastic containers
*squeeze different size sponges
*use one finger to trigger a squirt gun

The following are good readiness activities that will improve your child's thumb opening and closing strength, which will in turn help with scissor skills.
* play with puppets with moveable mouths
*punch holes with a hand held hole punch
*use tongs to pick up small items such as cotton balls or jelly beans
*pinch play dough between fingers
*use clothes pins to hang up clothes

Here are some hints to develop good cutting skills.
*have your child sit in a small chair so his feet rest on the floor
*give him small pieces of heavy weight paper, such as cereal boxes or greeting cards
*put a small piece of colored tape around the thumb loop as a reminder of where the thumb goes
*tape paper to a wall to practice cutting on a vertical line...this position encourages correct orientation of the child's arm with scissors and thumb pointing up to the ceiling
*younger children can put their elbows on the table for stability

Gluing is an important skill that can be taught in conjunction with cutting.Observe which hand your child uses and place the glue on the opposite side of the table. This encourages your child to reach across midline which is an important skill in hand writing.
*use tissue paper, construction paper, wallpaper, and magazines to tear, crumple, fold and glue to paper to make a collage.
*stretch out and glue cotton balls to paper
*glue buttons and other objects to paper to make a collage
*practice squeezing tiny dots of glue on to a piece of paper

There are many daily activities that can be done to encourage hand writing development.
*turn screws in a piece of wood with a screwdriver using wrist rotation
*tear strips of paper using thumb andtwo fingers on each hand. Use paper of various weights and textures
*use a wind up music box to encourage wrist rotation
*unwrap a piece of candy using only the fingers while forearm is stable in the air
*write on a vertical srface
*paint the bathtub wall with shaving cream
*squeeze the trigger of a spray bottle
*seal a ziploc bag with thumb and forefinger only

Make a variety of writing materials available to your child.
*markers
*crayons-small and large
*pencils
*glue sticks
*stickers
*rubber stamps
*paper
*stencils
*hole punch