69 Months Milestone

Two little dickie birds sitting on a wall

Finger songs such as Two little dickie birds help children to develop fine motors skills amongst other things. With regard to fine motor skills, children typically learn to draw people with more than 10 body parts as they near their sixth birthday. 

They draw a rhombus (diamond shape) correctly, can write their first name, and typically learn to write the numbers 1 to 9. 

When they draw, their figures typically float in the air, as their spatial perception is still developing.

It is traditionally a major milestone for late five-year-olds to be practicing tying a bow and a knot so that they can learn to tie their own shoelaces. 

Your child will now also be able to coordinate their hand movements well enough to be able to thread a lace through a series of holes. You can punch a series of 10 holes into a box with a skewer stick and demonstrate how to thread a shoelace in and out from beginning to end.

Tip: Help your child to refine their finger movements

Draw little eyes and mouths on each of their fingertips and play a game where the thumb has to “kiss” each of the other four fingers, one after the other – starting from their forefinger to pinkie, and back again from their pinkie to their forefinger.

This develops “thumb opposition” and is a great way of preparing your child for handling writing tools and refining their fine-motor coordination. 

Another game, that children find quite challenging, is where you tell your child to put their hands together in a praying position and then practice parting the opposing fingers one by one.