Improving Young Children's Fine Motor Skills Through Crayon Coloring Activities At Kristina Waur Kindergarten, Kei Besar, Southeast Maluku Regency

Abstract

Fine motor skill acquisition represents a foundational aspect of early childhood development, underpinning children's later readiness for writing and independent daily activities. A preliminary observation at Kristina Waur Kindergarten, Kei Besar, Southeast Maluku Regency, found that most class A children aged 4-5 years had not yet mastered adequate fine motor coordination, shown by difficulty gripping coloring instruments, limited wrist flexibility, and untidy coloring within picture outlines. This study was carried out to describe how crayon coloring activities can be used to strengthen young children's fine motor abilities. A Classroom Action Research (CAR) design based on the Kemmis and Taggart spiral model was applied over two cycles, each comprising planning, action, observation, and reflection stages, involving 13 class A children as research subjects. Data were gathered through non-participatory observation, interviews with the school principal and class teacher, and documentation, then processed using a percentage-achievement formula referring to four developmental categories: Not Yet Developing (BB), Starting to Develop (MB), Developing According to Expectations (BSH), and Very Well Developed (BSB). The findings revealed that in Cycle I, 3 children (23.08%) remained in the Not Yet Developing category, 6 children (46.15%) were classified as Starting to Develop, and 4 children (30.77%) reached the Developing According to Expectations category. Following refinement of the coloring activities in Cycle II, the results improved markedly: 1 child (7.69%) was recorded as Starting to Develop, 4 children (30.77%) as Developing According to Expectations, and 8 children (61.54%) as Very Well Developed. These results confirm that theme-based crayon coloring activities, reinforced by consistent and individualized teacher guidance, are effective in accelerating fine motor development in children aged 4-5 years. Early childhood educators are encouraged to design varied, patterned coloring tasks as a routine part of daily learning to optimize children's fine motor readiness ahead of formal schooling.