WAWOS | Blog FineMotorSkills

Work hard. Play hard.

“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’ve always liked this quote and now, as a parent, I think about how it applies to Sofia. We all know kids are excited about the world around them and their place in it. Sofia is no different. She’s curious and loves...

Posted Jun 30, 2015 by Jacquie Robison

Peacock Proud

MATERIALS ~ paper ~ marker or crayon It doesn’t get much easier than ‘trace your hand’ for a fun activity that develops Sofia’s fine motor skills — and her creative imagination. The first time we tried this, she was about 3.5 years old and needed quite a bit of help gripping the...

Posted Feb 28, 2015 by Jacquie Robison

Playing with Pennies

MATERIALS ~ silly putty ~ assorted coins ~ small container with lid ~ scissors It was one of those days. I had planned a Saturday of exploring and digging in the sand at our neighborhood park, but awoke to a downpour and watched those plans get rained out. Well, necessity is the...

Posted Dec 18, 2014 by Jacquie Robison

Gone Fishing

MATERIALS ~ construction paper ~ safety scissors ~ marker ~ plastic container or bowl ~ small chip clip or clothespin One afternoon, our daughter sat contentedly as she watched “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2″ (again). She was joyfully calling out the names of the various...

Posted Jan 29, 2015 by Jacquie Robison

Fingerprint Artwork

MATERIALS ~ paper ~ stamp pad/assorted colors ~ marker The idea for this craft came from a comment Sofia made after wiping off her hands following a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs (one of her favorites!). As she was getting the last dabs of sauce off her hands, she noticed...

Posted May 4, 2015 by Jacquie Robison

Low mess 'sand' box

MATERIALS ~ rice ~ cookie sheet ~ small cooking utensils (spoon, measuring cup) ~ items that can be treasure to find (wine charms were handy for me…) Tapping into the creativity of my inner child has been a corollary of welcoming our daughter into our lives. Seeing how certain...

Posted Jan 24, 2015 by Jacquie Robison

Alphabet Art

"Let's make some letter pictures", is a frequent request around our place. This is a fun way to work on Sofia's pencil skills and grow her creativity. I simply print a letter on the page and she draws an animal or creates a scene that starts with that letter. Here is a recent...

Posted Jan 2, 2017 by Jacquie Robison

Eatable Exercises

MATERIALS ~ contents of your fridge ~ your dinner menu ~ a little advance planning (don’t worry … not too much!) Sofia’s formal diagnosis is spastic diplegia, which in brief means it impacts her legs. There is some involvement in her left hand, and they suppose this could be because...

Posted Jan 12, 2015 by Jacquie Robison

Stop and smell the flowers

MATERIALS ~ popsicle sticks ~ flower stickers ~ small berry baskets ~ duct tape We made this a two-day adventure and started by making the flowers themselves. It was a fun way to work on fine motor skills while talking about the colors we liked and what kind of bouquet we were...

Posted Dec 9, 2014 by Jacquie Robison

X marks the spot

Since she was about three years old, one of Sofia’s favorite shows has been ‘Jake and the Neverland Pirates.’ She is inspired by the idea of discovery, working together as a team and treasure. Hey, the girl loves her bling! One morning at breakfast, she asked if she could watch...

Posted Mar 9, 2015 by Jacquie Robison

Spray Bottle Splashdown!

MATERIALS ~ Foam numbers, shapes or letters ~ Spray bottle ~ Window or sliding doors One afternoon, when Sofia was a little over four years old, she and I were hanging out upstairs. We have a small deck and both of us love the fresh air and the ‘outside time’ it allows. So, there...

Posted Feb 10, 2015 by Jacquie Robison