Being able to isolate the movement of your fingers can be tricky, especially when combined with all the other things that are needed for school skills, such as balance, muscle tone, hand stability and muscle strength to name a few. It's hard to imagine but it can take a lot of effort to combine all of these things and then remember to use the fingers muscles accurately.

Between the ages of three and five children usually demonstrate rapid gains in fine motor manipulation, finger dexterity and tool use. Fine motor skills don't develop overnight but take time, patience and practice.

Upright working surfaces can also help to encourage fine motor skills in your child. These can include chalkboards, painting easels, magnet boards, the front of the fridge, windows, mirrors and white boards.

These surfaces work by encouraging a stable wrist position to develop good thumb movements, strengthen fine motor muscles and encourage your child to use both the arm and shoulder muscles.

As a parent, you can encourage your child to develop these skills through every day tasks including buttons, using pegs, opening and closing jars, threading beads and playing with dough.

1. Cutting
2. Matching and Pasting
3. Self-Care Skills
4. Tracing and Coloring
5. Pre-Writing Patterns
6. Dot-to-dots
7. Finger Tracing and Painting