Academy of Mt Juliet Blog

In preparation for kindergarten readiness, our PreK classrooms are working on shapes and fine motor skills, including cutting and gluing. Children benefit in many ways from these types of activities: 

🎯 Key Benefits of Combining Fine Motor + Shape/Math Skills in Preschool

1. Enhanced Brain Development

• Activities that involve both hands-on manipulation (e.g., cutting, tracing, building) and shape/math recognition (e.g., sorting shapes, matching patterns) activate multiple areas of the brain at once.

• This promotes neural connections between motor coordination, spatial reasoning, and early numeracy.

2. Improved School Readiness

• Fine motor skills (like holding a pencil or manipulating small objects) are essential for writing.

• Recognizing shapes and understanding spatial relationships lay the foundation for geometry, measurement, and number sense.

• Together, they prepare children for kindergarten tasks, such as drawing shapes, writing numbers, and solving puzzles.

3. Stronger Spatial Awareness

• Manipulating shapes builds visual-spatial skills: understanding how objects fit and relate in space.

• These are key for early math skills such as geometry, symmetry, patterns, and even understanding quantity and number lines.

4. Deeper Conceptual Learning Through Hands-On Activities

• Children internalize math concepts more deeply when using their hands.

  • E.g., Using playdough to make shapes = understanding sides/corners + developing hand strength.

  • Puzzles and tangrams = shape recognition + problem solving + hand-eye coordination.

5. Language and Vocabulary Growth

• As children handle shapes and tools, they’re more likely to use descriptive math vocabulary: circle, triangle, bigger, smaller, sides, corners, etc.

• Teachers can scaffold these moments into math talk, boosting both math literacy and language development.

6. Increased Engagement and Focus

• Motor activities that incorporate math are fun and interactive, keeping young learners focused longer.

• Hands-on shape games and manipulatives support active learning, which is more effective than passive listening at this age.

7. Supports Diverse Learning Styles

• Combines kinesthetic (movement), visual, and logical learning modes.

• Helps children with different strengths access math concepts in ways that suit their learning needs.

By integrating fine motor and shape/math skill development, preschool educators support whole-child growth. This approach not only builds strong foundations for math and writing but also enhances focus, language, and confidence in young learners—setting them up for long-term success.