老師有時可能會話: “手指肌肉控制得唔係咁好……同佢訓練多啲小肌能力啦……” 究竟點先可以訓練手指仔能力或者小肌能力呢？ "Why manipulatives are so important for children's growth?" "Young children are not good sitters. They are hungry for stimulation. They want to see, touch, taste, sniff, handle, and use materials. They want to test things out for themselves" (pp. 37, 44–45). Children learn best when they are encouraged to explore, interact, create, and play (Thompkins, 1991).   Not only is manipulative play fun for you and your toddler, but it has many brain development benefits as well. Your little one will learn about size, shape and weight as he plays with various toys. He'll also build early math skills by learning about sorting, patterns and sequences. He will also get to compare and contrast toys, even if he doesn't realize it. Manipulative play also develops the muscles in your toddler's hands, fingers and arms.   One of my best favourite tool for developing all fine motor skills is the homemade play dough. It can be used in SO many ways by adding other combinations of materials to it, and automatically strengthens little hands as they roll, squeeze, twist and build with it. It is a wonderful way to play and learn simultaneously!   Other activities I have loved have included exploring sensory play materials, transporting small parts, threading beads, hands-on art projects, cutting and sticking, tearing and scrunching papers, opening and closing fastenings and countless others. It can be adapted for different age groups and abilities. As Valentine's Day is approaching, I plan to make a beautiful and educational craft. I start with a piece of cardboard box which I cut into three heart shapes. They happened to be large, medium and small, which turned out nicely when I hung them up at the end! I cut out a smaller heart from the middle of each, to create a border ready for weaving. I painted the hearts on both sides, in a range of colours. When they were dry I found some thick yarn in pink, red and purple shades and cut them into manageable lengths for working with (each no longer than arm length.) I stuck the end onto the back of one of the hearts using sellotape and then demonstrated how to push the yarn through the middle, then around the outside and back, wrapping it around the border tightly. When it was finished I trimmed off any loose ends, lay them over a long piece of yarn and stuck them down firmly with tape.They are then easy to hang up at the window (or from the ceiling if you have a hook at the ready!) These ways could help me to support childrens’ learning in manipulative toys: Signal to children that it is OK to be messy. Allow them to mix toys together with the understanding that at clean-up time, all materials are returned to the proper place. Add more and more complex materials as children become more capable. As children gain fine motor skills, add materials or toys with more and smaller pieces. Add smaller building materials like beeds. Store materials so they are accessible. Place items on open shelves, keeping like items together. If there are many small pieces of the same materials, store these in open dishpans that are labeled on the outside with pictures of the item. Provide ample periods for children to select their own activities. Schedule large blocks of time when children can choose what they want to do and then carry through with their ideas without fear of interruption.