At Five Years Old, Most Children Can:
- Cut on a line continuously
- Copy a cross
- Copy a square
- Print some capital letters
Tips to Help Your 5 Year Old Develop Fine Motor Skills
You can help with your child’s developmental milestones. Suggested play to help developing fine motor skills in a child 54 to 60 months of age:
- Make a family portrait. Encourage your child to draw a picture of the family. When he or she is done, ask them to tell you about the picture.
- Wrap it up. Give your child a small sturdy box, some newspaper or wrapping paper tape and ribbon. Let your child practice wrapping the box. Later they can wrap a real present for a friend in their very own way.
- Color the sidewalks. Decorate your sidewalks with beautiful chalk drawings. Colorful chalk can be found at any toy store and some supermarkets. Don’t forget to remind your child to sign its name!
- Make lacing cards. Using safety scissors, your child can cut out simple pictures of familiar things from magazines and glue the pictures onto the cardboard. With a paper punch, punch several holes around the outside of the picture. Tie a shoestring or heavy piece of yarn through one of the holes. Make sure the other end of the string has tape wrapped around it to make a firm tip. Your child can sew in and out around the edges of the card.
- Make a map. Draw a large square for your child. Ask your child to make a map of its room, showing where the bed, dresser, etc. are located. After making a map of the room, your child can make one of the entire house.