Skill: Motor Planning

Motor planning is the ability to assess a motor activity, plan and organize how to carry out that motor activity, and finally implement motor skills to achieve that motor activity.

Motor planning leads to the ability to carry out a motor skill automatically after enough practice.

Fence Post Push

Fence Post Push

Steps:

  • Adult Prep: Use the scissors to cut several narrow, short slots (about 1-inch long) across the surface of the cardboard. Keep the slots tight to add resistance.
  • Set up the area by standing the cardboard vertically on a table. Place the craft sticks in the container next to the cardboard barrier.
  • Show your child how to use their ‘helper hand’ to hold and stabilize the cardboard fence, keeping it perfectly steady.
  • Using the working hand, pick up one craft stick at a time. Aim the stick at a slot and use a strong, controlled push to insert it through the cardboard.
  • Encourage your child to continue inserting sticks until the entire cardboard is full of colorful fence posts. Try pushing sticks into slots placed at different heights.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required during the preparation phase when using scissors. Ensure the child sits stably at the table while performing the pushing action.

Line Up Clips

Line Up Clips

Steps:

  • Use markers to color several craft sticks different bright colors.
  • Secure a long piece of string tautly between two chairs or tape it firmly to a wall at your child’s chest height. This is your clothesline.
  • Challenge your child to use a strong pincer grip to clip one clothespin onto the center of each colorful craft stick.
  • Have your child hold the string steady with their helper hand to provide a stable base.
  • Using their dominant hand, encourage them to clip the stick-and-clip unit onto the clothesline, lining up the colorful sticks in a specific order.

Safety Tip:
Clothespins can be small and pose a choking hazard for children under five. Always supervise this activity closely and ensure all pieces are collected after playtime.

Finger Path Placements

Finger Path Placements

Steps:

  • Trace the child’s non-dominant (helper) hand firmly onto the construction paper using a marker. This drawing is their map!
  • Using markers, draw specific colored dots (matching your pom-pom colors) inside the traced hand outline. Place the dots in the ‘paths’ or spaces right between the fingers.
  • Ask the child to place their non-dominant hand flat on the paper, lining it up exactly with the tracing (this hand provides the stable base).
  • Using their dominant hand, challenge the child to pick up the matching colored pom-poms (using a neat Pincer Grasp) and carefully place them into the drawn spots. They must use precision to drop the pom-pom without disturbing the fingers of the stable hand.
  • Once the pom-poms are placed, try removing them using tweezers for an extra fine motor workout.

Safety Tip:
Due to the small size of the pom-poms, close adult supervision is required throughout the activity to prevent choking or placing items in the mouth, nose, or ears.

The Sticky Spider Crawl Maze

Set up a ‘web’ area by placing two large boxes or firm pillows a few feet apart. Use masking tape to string yarn back and forth between the two structures, creating a low, crisscrossing maze pattern (the sticky spider web).

The goal is to cross from one side to the other. You can grade the activity up and down by spacing the spider webs.

Cardboard Link Structures

Cardboard Link Structures

Steps:

  • Use markers to draw several long strips (about 1 inch wide) onto a piece of firm cardboard. Draw a few simple shapes like squares or circles, too.
  • Encourage your child to use child-safe scissors to carefully cut along the marker lines. Cutting the thick cardboard requires a strong grasp and finger effort!
  • Adult Step: Take the cardboard strips and shapes. Cut 2-3 short, narrow slits (about 1/2 inch deep) into the edges of each piece. Ensure the slits are slightly wider than the cardboard thickness.
  • Challenge your child to connect the cardboard pieces by sliding the slits into each other. The goal is to build a tall, unique, free-standing structure by linking all the pieces.
  • Encourage your child to use one hand to hold the structure steady while the other hand works to push and maneuver the joining pieces into place.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required during all cutting phases. For children under 5, ensure all small cardboard scraps are immediately collected and discarded, as they may pose a choking hazard.