Happy Spring everyone! As many of you know, this season is one of my favorites. It represents growth, rebirth and renewal–a time when bulbs are beginning to burst into beautiful blooms and buds on trees and bushes open wider into green leaves. Like plants, children develop from the inside out— beginning with core development. In newborns, it starts with the brain, then the ears, eyes, nose, tongue, and skin—all the anatomical parts that create sensory connections. In 2 to 3 months, the larger muscles come into play as babies hold their heads up, kick and learn how to roll over. Fingers and manual dexterity are the last to develop, and this fine motor dexterity is essential to cognitive development.
As a musical artist- I have been creating songs with specific movements that focus on fine motor skill development using sign language and fingerplays. So here are a few seeds to practice and learn on your own whenever you are teaching, playing, or working with very young children. My awesome producer, James Coffey, has created some fun videos and musical tracks and they will be all recorded on a new album soon. If you are a parent or care provider, feel free to use these songs to help support fine motor skill development and active learning in young children from birth to age 5.
My newest videos are featured on my YouTube channel @KatherineDines
Tickle it Away is a fingerplay that involves sensory awareness, tickling and small motor skills. Tickling is a technique that helps develop the diaphragm.
Baby Bird. Nothing is more adorable than a nest of baby robins, cheeping away while waiting for their hard-working mama to bring home a yummy worm.
Bye Bye Bug is a song/chant that not only teaches older children about bug life, there are many signs used for different bugs.
Here on Earth can be said, chanted or sung. The many signs help build an awareness that no matter who we are, we are all part of this life here on earth.
Interested in additional Fingerplay resources? The below should be a good way to get started and join others with a passion around finger play and music education!
• Planting Seeds of Love FB Group HERE
• Lullabies, Tickles, & Fingerplays for Early Childhood FB Group HERE
• Songs For Teaching: Fingerplays for Young Children HERE
• 15 Preschool Counting Songs, Fingerplays & Rhymes HERE
• Top 10 Fingerplay Songs to Develop Fine Motor Skills HERE
