Yes, it’s true. All that time with video games does increase the fine motor skills of children, but that doesn’t mean we should be rushing to sit young children in front of the computer for more than a half-hour a day. Older children will benefit from such practice and as we know will sit in front of the screen for as long as we allow. Even in 9-14 year old children, however, the amount of time with video games must be balanced with real-life handwork skills such as cursive handwriting, carpentry, sculpting with clay, knitting, weaving, and other artistic endeavors.
Nine-year-olds enjoy practicing their cursive and may benefit from a rubberized grip to relax an overly firm hold on the pencil. They increasingly can use cursive in daily assignments. Recopying rough drafts is something nine- and ten-year-olds take pride in and most do not resist this expectation from teachers. Ten- and eleven-year-olds with handwriting difficulty will be ready to master keyboarding to access typing as their primary modality for putting ideas to paper. Tools such as drawing compasses, protractors and rulers also enhance fine motor skills tied to academic fluency.
Hand-eye coordination (or foot-eye) is a skill 11-14 year olds enjoy practicing in groups as they juggle and hackey-sack their way around the world. Artistic refinement, mechanical drawing, and three-dimensional construction are strongly in the interest and ability range of children at these ages.
Watch and encourage your children and students growing strengths in these areas at different ages. Tell them what you notice specifically about what they draw and write and how they do it. Do not push them to do better, but let them know how much effort you see going into their continuous practice in any area.
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“Do you like it?” is a common question of young children (4-6) as they try to guage what “good” is in the eyes of adults. Instead of gushing with “It’s great! I love it!” try to think about what it is about the drawing or other piece of work that you love. (Other than the fact that it was done by your child.) “I love the way you blended colors,” or “What a great idea to show the horse running down the hill,” gives your child qualitative information about their developing skills rther than gneralized praise they will eventually dismiss if that is all they hear. This is called. simply, “specific noticing” and it really works. Try it!
Interesting thoughts on how to respond to a child’s growing skills with drawing and writing. Could you–and, I hope, some other teachers and parents–comment on good ways to respond when a child shows you her work and asks “Do you like it?”