Preparing for Pencil Control

Cut a one inch square from a sponge. Make targets on a chalkboard, brown cardboard or dark colored paper. Have your child use the wet sponge to draw lines to connect the targets. Have them make lines that are vertical, horizontal and diagonal. Encourage your child to use control to start and stop at targets.

Developing Hand Muscles

Playing with playdough is a great way to build strength in your child's hand muscles, preparing them for pencil and scissor control. Poking objects in and pulling them out of playdough, squeezing, rolling, cutting, and flattening all aid in fine motor development, eye hand coordination and concentration. Here are some ideas for items that can be used with playdough in addition to the traditional plastic knife, rolling pin and shape cutters.