From three to five years of age, your preschooler will develop or continue to develop important hand-eye coordination skills and learn their preference for right or left handedness for when they enter school. Supplement your child's preschool education with activities at home and help them practice their fine-motor skills to get them ready for learning to how to write in kindergarten. Here are three fun fall art activities you can do with your preschooler to help them learn and develop their fine motor skills.
Paper Plate Spider Web
This project teaches your child fine motor skills they will also be learning in preschool, such as two handed coordination, control of their hand muscles, and accuracy while they grip the bobby pin to thread yarn through the holes around the paper plate.
For this project, you will need:
- Sturdy white paper plate
- White yarn
- Bobby pin
- Hole punch
- Plastic spider rings
- To prepare this project for your child to complete, punch 12 to 14 holes around the edge of the paper plate.
- Cut off a length of white yarn one yard in length.
- Tie one end of the yarn to one of the holes on the paper plate and the other end of the yarn to the bobby pin.
- Let your child thread the bobby pin and yarn through the holes across the plate so the yarn criss-crosses and weaves a web across the face of the plate. Your child can thread the yarn through a plastic spider ring as they sew the web.
- Once your child is finished sewing the yarn through the holes, cut off the bobby pin and tie the end of the yarn onto a hole to secure the web.
- Display their spider web project on the wall.
Thumb Print Leaves
This art project will help your child practice hand-eye coordination as they use their fingertips to paint leaves onto a fall tree painting. Eye-hand coordination is the ability of your child's brain to use vision to guide their movements, and needs to be learned by practicing through play, art projects, and other fun activities.
For this project, you will need:
- Piece of white construction paper
- Red, yellow, orange, and brown finger paints
- Paper plate
- Black marker
- First, you need to prepare this art project by drawing the trunk and branches for the tree onto the paper with the marker. You may want to dress your child in a paint smock or other protective covering for their clothes.
- Scoop a tablespoon of each finger paint color onto the paper plate for your child to paint with.
- Instruct your child how to dip their fingertip into the paint and touch it to the paper to add leaves to their tree.
- When your child has finished adding leaves to their fall scene, allow the paint to dry.
- Display their painting.
Fall Leaves Window Art
This craft project helps your child practice their hand-eye coordination, accuracy, and fine motor control as they position leaves to make a window art hanging. Learning how to hold and position delicate leaves can teach your child the skills to be able to handle delicate and living things in their life. This project also gives you both a chance to go outside on a nature walk together to collect fall leaves.
For this project, you will need:
- Clear contact paper
- Scissors
- Yarn
- Hole punch
- Leaves
- Cut off a section of contact paper double the length you want your window art to be.
- Fold the contact paper in half and cut down the fold.
- Peel off the adhesive backing from one of the sheets.
- Allow your child to position and stick the leaves onto the sticky contact paper.
- When your child is finished, peel off the adhesive backing from the other page of contact paper and stick it over the leaves to seal them in.
- Punch two holes on the top of the window art and tie a length of yarn through both holes.
- Use the yarn to display the art on a widow in your home.
Do these fun fall crafts with your preschooler at home to help them practice their hand-eye coordination and other fine motor skills to supplement their preschool education. Or visit their school site, sites like http://www.kidscountry.net, to find out more about what they are specifically learning so you can cater your home crafts towards their specific topics.
