In our WunderKeys Facebook Group over 7,200 teachers gather in our happy little corner of the internet to support one another and promote piano education.
With this incredible hive of collaboration, amazing ideas are shared daily.
Yesterday, a teacher posted a wonderful video with a finger exercise application that could be easily applied to preschool piano. We mentioned to the group that we’d like to make a WunderKeys version if teachers would be interested, and everyone responded with a solid, “Yes please!”
So, today we’re sharing the adapted preschool finger exercise activity in the Growing With WunderKeys Toolkit.
You can find the instructions below as well as a link to download the printable.
And while you’re here, don’t forget to join our amazing Facebook group.
Before You Download Today’s Resource
Today’s resource is designed for preschool piano students. Thousands of teachers in the WunderKeys community have built thriving studios using our preschool method books.
Traditionally, piano teachers have turned away preschoolers, but with our age-appropriate, all-in-one method books, teachers have discovered that preschoolers CAN learn piano and they are an absolute delight to teach.
You can get the WunderKeys Preschool Method Books here in the WunderKeys 2020 Piano Book Guide.
Fine Motor Skills And Your Preschool Piano Students
When preschoolers begin piano lessons, they often struggle with finger independence. This means that their fine motor skills may be lacking, and their finger flexibility is nonexistent.
It’s therefore important that time is spent (over and over) with your young students building finger coordination and strength in an age-appropriate way.
Today’s activity can be used with your preschool piano students to reinforce their finger names (named for the Wunderbie characters in the preschool books) and as a fun way to work on fine motor skills and finger flexibility.
Once your students are very comfortable with the task, performing the activity with both hands at the same time also improves lateralization (the ability to use both brain hemispheres at the same time; also an important piano skill).
Today’s activity, called “Playdates With Thumbelina”, can be downloaded below.
Playdates With Thumbelina: A Fun, Fine-Motor Skill Activity
Click the button after the instructions to download Playdates With Thumbelina from the Member’s Only Printables section of The Growing With WunderKeys Toolkit (use the password found in the brackets of today’s email).
Not yet a member? Want access to a ton of free printables? Join here.
After downloading, return to this page and follow along with the instructions.
Instructions:
1. Cut out the cards and place them in a stack in front of your student.
2. Your student should sit with the palm of his right hand facing up.
3. Each card in the stack has a different Wunderbie Character Pattern. These are the “friends that will visit Thumbelina” (or the fingers that will bend across the palm to touch each finger pad to the thumb).
4. To begin, say to your student, “The friends are ready to play with Thumbelina!” Next, have your student touch his fingers across his palm in the order indicated on the card.
For example, if the card reads, Pointer Panda, Pinky Pig, Middleton Mouse, Ringo Raccoon, your student should touch his 2 finger to his thumb and then release, his 5 finger to his thumb and then release, his 3 finger to his thumb and then release and his 4 finger to his thumb and then release.
5. Repeat Step 4 until you have worked your way through the stack.
6. Next, have your student play the game with his left hand.
Note: If your student becomes adept at this activity, have him use both hands at the same time to complete the card stack.
