How to Increase Motor Skills

Motor skills are movements that we do every day, without thinking about how to do them. Motor skills can be complex and began at birth. They can be broken down into categories. Gross motor skills include activities such as rolling over, standing, walking, crawling and balancing. Fine motor skills include hand-eye coordination, hand-to-hand coordination, cutting, coloring and other movements that are used in completing a task. Ambidextrous motor skills are specialized skills that require left- or right-hand use of fine motor skills, such as drinking a glass of water with your left hand.

Increasing one's motor skills can be accomplished but takes practice. Exercises and techniques are available to help improve motor skills.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Scissors
• Markers
• Toys
• Basketball
• Football
• Golf ball
• Golf club

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Instructions

Gross Motor Skills

• 1

  Practice rolling over. Someone improving gross motor skills may want to lie down and accomplish rolling over by first conquering rolling over on his or her side.

• 2

  Walk with assistance. Use support when learning to walk. Whether it is a baby or an adult learning to walk again, support will help that person balance his or her weight and learn to walk again.

• 3

  Engage in physical therapy. See a physical therapist or occupational therapist who can develop a strategy to improve gross motor skills.

Fine Motor Skills

• 4

  Cut things out. Cutting is an important fine motor skill that anyone will need to know. Practice cutting paper in parts and improve your skill by cutting out shapes.

• 5

  Use makers and other utensils. Practicing coloring is a technique that helps one learn to stay within the lines. This can improve hand-to-eye coordination. Also, someone who needs help with fine motor skills can try feeding him or herself, which will improve hand-to-mouth coordination.

• 6

  Playing sports such as basketball, football and golf are also important in increasing hand-to-eye coordination. These sports help because it takes specialized skill to be successful.

Ambidextrous Motor Skills

• 7

  Practice writing with your left or right hand. Writing techniques using left and right hands can help improve the ability to write with that hand. While several people primarily write with one hand, others can right with both hands due to their increased ability to use ambidextrous motor skills.

• 8

  Participate in activities such as juggling and music. Juggling requires use of both hands equally in order to be successful. Also, playing music can help improve ambidextrous motor skills because it requires competent use of both hands equally to play.

• 9

  Try a fine motor skill with only a left or right hand. For example, practice cutting paper with only one hand or dribble a basketball with only a left or right hand.