Many 4 year old pre-schoolers tend to have a preferred or dominant hand they use to draw with. You will notice a more mature
grasp beginning to emerge (thumb with one or two fingers) as they use their helping hand in a more deliberate way to hold the paper steady). They typically use what is called a “Static Tripod Grasp” to hold the pencil near the tip approximately between their index and middle fingers and thumb. They usually hold their elbow up and their hand moves freely in the air- this is called “arm writing”. Their arm and hand movements are more controlled as they start to intentionally using their writing hand to copy lines down and across, circles and learn to make a squares and triangles, and trace letters and numbers. Under supervision you can encourage your four-year-old to develop their hand skills in play activities such as:
More complex constructions such as with lego
Creative arts and crafts such as with scissors, paper, bits of wool, glue, pipe cleaners.
More complex manipulation toys for example, mosaic pegs.
- Article by Johanna de Kort
- Published: