Encouraging young children's autonomy by supporting their fine motor skills development

A significant number of children in Greece, observed through their interaction with school materials, enter preschool with underdeveloped fine motor skills. Many children struggle, to varying degrees, with activities in the classroom, whether individually or in groups. As a result, children advance to primary school unprepared. In several European countries, preschool education includes object manipulation workshops that improve fine motor, cognitive and emotional skills. Based on these findings, a study was designed to assess the effectiveness of such workshops in Greek kindergartens. Preschool teachers in Iraklion, Crete, participated in a training program, in which they were instructed to create and implement object manipulation workshops in their classrooms. The workshops were designed to be playful while also fostering a variety of skills. To evaluate the outcomes of the study, teachers were given a questionnaire with open-ended questions. The content analysis of the responses revealed that, due to their engaging and playful nature, the workshops encouraged children's participation, enhanced their concentration and improved their fine motor skills. The children demonstrated a strong creative inclination, used the materials in innovative ways and even designed new workshops themselves.