The Importance of the Hand

Let’s talk for a moment about the beauty and vital importance of the hand - in human life, in childhood development.

These images were taken during my visit to the Westport Farmer’s Market last week (I have countless more, with countless children, from my work over the last fifteen years).

Maria Montessori called the hand “the prehensile instrument of the mind.”

Your child meets fundamental needs through the work of the hand. They nourish, clothe, and care for themselves. They communicate with gestures like hello and goodbye, and through the process of writing. They practice acts of self-expression like drawing or painting, and writing once more. They prepare food; they build structures; they care for others with their hands. They explore the world and construct within it via the hands.

Your child is engaged in the process of integrating themselves, holistically, as a being. And a huge part of this occurs through the work of the hand.

I encourage you to observe the way your child is utilizing their hands in any given day.

What materials are they using with their hands?

What experiences are they having? Feeding, dressing, drawing, building with blocks, petting your dog, engaging in play with friends, holding the hand of a loved one?

Which experiences are they not having, that they could if you allowed them? Peeling cucumbers for snack, combing their hair, packing their bag for camp, sorting your recycling, organizing their books, scrubbing your bathtub, folding their clothes, setting the table, cutting and pasting collages, weaving, cutting flowers, tearing greens, digging up carrots, sweeping?

If you are a parent relying on workbooks this summer to strengthen fine motor skills - allow your child to live and contribute to real, meaningful life instead.