Hello!
Getting ready for kindergarten doesn’t always look like sitting down to practice a skill. This week, we’re looking at all the ways little hands get stronger simply by going about an ordinary day.
✋ Kindergarten Quick Tip: Let Them Carry It
The next time you have something small and lightweight to move from one place to another, let your preschooler be the helper.
Ask them to carry a small stack of books to the shelf, take a lightweight grocery item to the pantry, carry their own water bottle, or move a few toys from one room to another.
Grasping, holding, carrying, and carefully setting down objects all help strengthen the hands and fingers. Children also have to adjust their grip depending on an object’s size, shape, and weight.
There’s another kindergarten benefit, too: you’re showing your child that they’re capable of handling real responsibilities.
This week’s challenge: Before automatically carrying something for your child, ask yourself, “Could they safely carry this themselves?”
If the answer is yes, hand it over!
📰 Try This at Home: Tear Up Some Paper
Have some scrap paper headed for the recycling bin?
Give your child a piece and show them how to tear it into strips. That’s it!
Tearing paper requires both hands to work together, with the fingers pinching, pulling, and moving in opposite directions. Once your child has made a pile of strips, challenge them to tear the strips into smaller and smaller pieces.
You can even turn cleanup into part of the activity: Have your child use their fingertips to pick up the little pieces one at a time and drop them into the recycling bin. No printable. No special supplies. No preparation. Just a piece of paper and a few minutes of work for those little fingers.
💛 An Encouraging Reminder
You don’t need to create a perfect kindergarten-prep routine—small opportunities to practice during ordinary days really do add up.
📚 Resources of the Week
Fine Motor Skills Happen All Day Long: 20 Everyday Opportunities at Home
You may be surprised by how much fine motor practice is already happening in your child’s day! Discover 20 simple opportunities hiding in cooking, getting dressed, household jobs, and play.
Gifts That Encourage Pretend Play
Doctor kits, grocery sets, puppet theaters, play kitchens and more—pretend-play toys don’t just entertain preschoolers. They encourage language, storytelling, problem-solving, social skills, and confidence.
Books That Encourage Building and Making
Have a little builder, inventor, or maker? These 12 picture books celebrate creativity, construction, engineering, persistence, and big ideas—and may inspire some building after storytime is over.
Until next week, keep noticing those little moments of learning hiding in your everyday routines. 💙
The Ready for Kinder Guide
Encouraging Parents. Building Confident Kids.
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