Between the ages of four and five, your child’s ability to use his hands is approaching that of an adult, and his hand-eye coordination–the ability to combine hand movements with visual information–has vastly improved. This is the skill that allows him to catch and throw a ball, write on a line, or fit a puzzle piece into place. You’ll see his drawing become more detailed and complex, and he’ll be able to trace or copy basic shapes. You may see him copying patterns or shapes that he sees. He may build complex structures with blocks and do more complicated puzzles. He can also use tools such as hammers or screwdrivers, though don’t give him any building projects just yet!

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Play Tips:

How can you support your child’s development of this Hand-Eye Coordination skill at this age? It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Get crafty. There are many simple arts and crafts that will help work the fine motor muscles in your child’s hands, as well as build hand-eye coordination. You could supply him with beads for stringing, craft dough for sculpting, or scissors and paper for cutting shapes. If he’s not sure what to make with his scissors, consider drawing lines on the paper for him to cut out.
2. Bring out the blocks. Blocks, interlocking toy bricks, and the like are great ways to exercise your child’s hand-eye coordination and develop his creativity. He’s moved past simply stacking blocks, so it will be fun to see what his imagination will build. If you like, supply him with some props (e.g. toy cars, farm animals, people) to spark an adventure.
3. Build puzzles. Puzzles are another great fine motor activity and offer a cognitive challenge as well. The eyes take in the puzzle, the brain figures out how to solve it or which piece fits “there,” and the hands pick up the piece and place it in. You could supply him with standard, two-dimensional puzzles, but consider other puzzle-type games as well. For example, lacing toys are great, as well as toys with different kinds of fasteners.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your child the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Developmental Milestone:

Has your baby achieved the following Hand-Eye Coordination developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) he has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

• Uses hand-eye coordination to do complex activities.

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Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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