Children inquisitively and curiously explore the world around them, which is why it is important they are provided with as many activities that encourage their overall development as possible. Children with special needs, however, need all the attention and professional help and they particularly need to be accepted and included in all types of activities. This paper presents the activities contributing to fine motor skills development in children with special needs, aged from 3 to 4, with the use of special materials.
The aim of the paper is to present and determine how materials and crafted didactic aids affect and contribute to fine motor skills development in children with special needs, which has an important role in their overall development. Technical activities and the use of materials with appropriately planned and adapted contents help children with special need to achieve optimal development of fine motor skills.
The main part of the paper presents theoretical starting points on fine motor skills development and the relation of technical activities through active and experiential learning. We focused on children with special needs and fine motor skills development through technical activities. The last part presents and describes materials and didactic aids used.
The empirical part analyses and presents the results of an online survey, which was sent to professional workers in the kindergarten through 1KA, an online survey site. We wanted to determine which materials are the most frequently used, what activities are performed to develop fine motor skills and how important fine motor skills development is in children with special needs. The survey was filled out by 57 professional workers from two kindergartens in Ljubljana. Most of them believe that motor skills development is very important for children with special needs, as is the use of diverse materials, approaches and methods of work. Most of them also think that well-developed fine motor skills are very important in everyday activities (putting on clothes, washing etc.).
The empirical part also presents three types of materials (paper, textile and EVA foam) from which three didactic aids were crafted. They were tested in the kindergarten by three children with special needs and behaviour and personality disorders. We observed the children individually. They actively handled the aids, tested them, observed them and learnt about their materials. We wanted to determine how different materials affect fine motor skills development in children with special needs. The development of fine motor skills was monitored with the help of an observation sheet. The children were observed at the beginning of the activity and at the end of the activity. By continuously performing activities to develop fine motor skills, which were appropriately adapted, and actively exploring and leaning about materials, the children improved their fine motor skills in three weeks.
The goal of the paper was to demonstrate how important well-prepared and appropriately adapted activities, diverse materials and didactic aids are for optimal development of fine motor skills in children. We wanted to present to professional workers a different and interesting method of developing fine motor skills and various methods of work with children with special needs.
|
