Mastering fine motor skills for 4+ Assessment success!

Struggling with pencil grip, scissor skills, or buttoning up a coat? These little things make a BIG difference in the 4+ assessments!

Fine motor skills aren’t just about neat handwriting—they show dexterity, independence and school readiness. Many 4+ Assessment tasks require children to:

Hold a pencil correctly and form letters/shapes with accuracy and precision
Use scissors and build with small objects like lego
Fasten buttons and complete puzzles and beading

These are just a few examples.

Many students who start working me with less than 6-9 months to go before their 4+ Assessments struggle with their fine motor skills and fine motor control. It hasn’t been practised enough. Parents can sometimes underestimate the power of practising these skills every day and consistently from a very young age. I have personally been working on fine motor skills with my son from the moment he was able to pick up small objects. Every day, I provide him with tasks that help to strengthen his fine motor skills. He now has exceptional fine motor control. There are things we continue to work on such as cutting which is still very challenging for him - and that’s okay! It’s about consistency and doing things daily (even for just 5-10 minutes).

And by the way, the reason he struggles with cutting is because that is one task I do not do with him every day and I am not consistent with it.

3 fun ways to strengthen fine motor skills at home:

1. Play doh Fun – Rolling, pinching & shaping strengthens little fingers!
2. Tweezers & Pom-Poms – Picking up small objects builds grip strength.
3. Buttoning & Zipping Challenge – Encourages independence with dressing skills.

Strong fine motor skills = confident, independent learners!

How is your child currently doing with their fine motor skills? How could you support them today to strengthen their fine motor skills?