Fine motor development in 5-year-old children in the aspect of their educational needs

Abstract

Reading and writing are basic skills which enable learning, thus it is crucial for the child to master these skills in the most effective way. Specialists in the field of education pay attention to the importance of movement in this process. The development of the child’s brain, in particular, in the preschool period is susceptible to a variety of kinetic stimuli. With regard to writing instruction, attention is focused on the need to develop manual skills and visual-motor coordination, the acquisition of which will ensure the child’s achievement of school readiness. Children who may have future problems with reading and writing can already be diagnosed in kindergarten. Therefore, the aim of the research was to identify the level of fine motor skills development of 5-year-old children (107 preschoolers) attending randomly selected kindergartens in Biała Podlaska district. The two-stage research was performed using tests. During the first stage, fine motor skills which cause most problems to children were identified. In turn, the second stage of research, which was conducted 6 months after the first one, revealed an increase in the participants’ skills and diagnosed children who needed support in the form of specialist therapeutic classes. The research tests were complemented by individual interviews conducted with teachers working directly with children taking part in the research. The interview results revealed the scope of difficulties with developing manual skills in the tested group of children and the need to engage parents in the education process of their offspring.