Trustpilot
01332 842424 hello@weare-css.co.uk

Recent research has found a link between fine motor skills and language ability, so is it time for daisy chains to make a comeback?

A recent study by a team of researchers in Germany and York suggests that fine motor skills are associated with language development. Using a sample of 76 children aged between 3 and 6, researchers aimed to explore the link between the two. They found that the children with higher fine motor skills also showed higher receptive and expressive vocabulary scores and more pronounced oral narrative skills.

There is no definitive theory to explain these links, but research proves they are there. Is it time to explore our classrooms and ensure that learning environments are supporting our children to develop these essential fine motor skills? We already have a focus on developing these skills to enable our children to learn to write, but should we put further emphasis on developing these skills to help their communication and reading skills develop faster and more efficiently?

So, is it time to bring back daisy chains and lentil art?

This research adds to the small literature on links between fine motor skills and language ability, and to the smaller literature on fine motor skills and expressive vocabulary. It is currently the only literature on fine motor skills and oral narrative skills, therefore more research is needed to understand these links further and begin developing updated teaching methods.

However, it is certainly a step in the right direction to begin understanding the development of language acquisition further, and daisy chains may prove to be highly beneficial to our children’s development.

Source: the above information was sourced from Megan Dixon (TES magazine) and Sage Journals: https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/primary/how-daisy-chains-developing-fine-motor-skills-can-improve-pupils-spoken-language https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01427237241233084