Developing Fine Motor Skills in Early Childhood through Plasticine Media

Along with the development of science and technology, there are various kinds of learning media that can be used to develop students' fine motor skills, one of which is plasticine media. The use of this media must be supported by an action in a classroom study. This research is a Classroom Action Research with descriptive qualitative research type. The formulation of the problem discusses whether the use of plasticine media can develop fine motor skills of Early Childhood at Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung. The data collection techniques that researchers use are the observation method as the main method, the documentation method as a support in research and the interview method to find out the extent of the teacher's response to the application of the storytelling method in improving children's morale. The results of this study showed an increase in children's language skills in cycle I by 60% and in cycle II by 85%. Based on these results, the author can conclude that the use of plasticine media can develop children's fine motor skills at Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung. The results can be seen from the development of students where in the pre-research cycle it is known that students who reach the assessment standards develop very well there are only 8 children out of all 20 students. Then in cycle I, children who have very good fine motor


INTRODUCTION
One of the noble mandates stated in the 1945 Constitution is, "To educate the nation."Every human being has the potential/talent of intelligence and it is the responsibility of educators, both parents and teachers in educational institutions to nurture and develop that potential/talent systematically through educational activities.Philosophically, education is an effort to help humanize humans, meaning that through the educational process it is hoped that better humans will be born, in a concrete sense children must be better than their parents (Suyadi, 2014).On this basis, it is concluded that in order to create a smart and quality generation, education must be carried out from an early age.And the only way to start is by organizing Early Childhood Education institutions abbreviated as PAUD.
The government's step to realize the Early Childhood Education institution is by making Law.No. 20 of 2003 concerning SISDIKNAS article 1 point 14 which reads: "Early Childhood Education" (PAUD) is coaching for children aged 0 -6 years that is done with educational stimulation to help physical and spiritual growth so that children are ready to follow further education (Istiqomah, 2016).In formal education such as kindergarten/early childhood education or its equivalent, there are 5 areas of development in the early childhood education curriculum.Development of habituation which includes the development of religious and moral values as well as social, emotional and independence.Basic skills development includes language, physical motor and cognitive development (Jaenullah, Ferdian Utama, 2022).
Of the two areas of development mentioned above, the objectives include religious and moral values where the learning content aims to instill religious norms and the formation of students' akhlaq so that they can behave in accordance with the norms that apply in their environment, in addition to religious norms, the socialemotional development of students is always guided so that students can regulate emotional states and can carry out their lives as social beings (Sari, 2023).Language development is also given in PAUD education, from verbal and nonverbal language skills, with the aim of students being able to understand and express the thoughts and feelings that exist in students.Physical development of children is also observed periodically and continuously, both fine motor and gross motor, with the aim that their physical health can develop optimally.Furthermore, observing the cognitive development of students, which is related to cognitive development such as reading and writing, recognizing numbers, science, grouping concepts, developing fine motor skills, and others.The five areas of development are stimulated so that their development is optimal so that children will gain life skills (Ramdhani & Dea, 2021).
One of the aspects of development above, developing fine motor skills is very important in the lives of students and can indirectly develop students' learning activities at the next level of education.What is meant by fine motor is the child's ability to show and master beautiful muscle movements in the form of coordination, dexterity and dexterity in using hands and fingers (Riyadi et al., 2023).
There are several indicators of fine motor development in early childhood that must be achieved in PAUD learning, namely: A child's activities begin before he can see the light of day and will never stop.From the womb, he spins, kicks, somersaults, and sucks fingers.When she is born, she lifts her head, looks around, kicks her legs, and wiggles her arms.All of the child's first movements are very simple and represent a type of overall activity with little awareness of control.These are early motor activities under the control of the subcortex, but by the fourth month of life they begin to make more deliberate movements commanded by the cortex (brain) (Sujiono, 2009).Therefore, in order for children's fine motor skills to develop properly and perfectly, it is necessary to provide directed and integrated stimulation.One of the right stimulations includes utilizing the use of media in the learning process in the classroom.
Along with the development of science and technology, learning media can be done through any media, either mass media such as magazines, books, newspapers, or also through electronic media such as radio, television, internet, and others.Media as one of the components of teaching that greatly affects the learning process.With the media that supports the learning process, it will be able to develop the quality of student learning outcomes (Hanafiah et al., 2023).Based on the history of educational media, teaching aids or audio visual aids (AVA) are tools that teachers use when teaching to help clarify the subject matter presented and prevent verbalism.Teaching that uses a lot of verbalism will certainly be fast and very boring and as far as possible should be avoided because it can inhibit the power and critical attitude of students.Therefore, direct experience or concrete experience which then leads to abstract abilities is an effective and efficient way of learning.
In achieving good development, the process of playing in children must always be supervised and we are directed by the use of media that can educate children.Media is derived from the Latin medius which literally means 'middle', 'intermediary' or 'introduction'.In Arabic, the media is an intermediary or messenger from the sender to the recipient of the message.Meanwhile, according to Gerlach and Ely as quoted by Azhar Arsyad, that media when understood broadly are people, materials, or events that build conditions that make students able to acquire knowledge, skills, or attitudes (Azhar Arsyad, 2011).
One of the media that many children like is plasticine media.Plasticine play activities are activities carried out by shaping, coloring, and giving color so as to create shapes.Plasticine play activities like singing can be done with full awareness in the form of certain goals and objectives or just making meaningless shapes (Rohmah & Gading, 2021).Plasticine is the best material to use for learning with children.Most children find that the texture of the wax itself is fun to touch and manipulate or change.It is very easy to mold something with wax and change it into another shape, size, and appearance.Most children are ready to use candles and they are engrossed in the feeling, beating the candle, pressing the candle, smearing the candle, and cutting the candle.They get a fun, satisfying experience (Kamala & Chandra, 2020).
There are several advantages and disadvantages in using plasticine media.The advantage is flexibility: Plasticine has properties that are easily molded and transformed into various desired shapes and objects.Creativity: The use of plasticine allows for high expression of creativity, both in fine arts and children's play activities.Sensory stimulation: This medium can provide sensory stimulation through touch and different feelings when holding and molding plasticine.Motor skills: Using plasticine can help improve fine motor skills, especially in children who are still developing their abilities.Ease of use: Plasticine can be used by various age groups and does not require any special equipment to use.Then there are the disadvantages of plasticine media, including non-permanence: Plasticine tends to be impermanent and prone to deformation or damage if not stored properly.Hand staining: Plasticine often leaves stains on hands and can be difficult to clean completely.Choking potential: Plasticine should not be eaten and can be a hazard if ingested by children or pets.Drying: If plasticine is exposed to the open air for too long, it can dry out and become unusable.Detail limitations: Some fine or sharp details may be difficult to achieve using plasticine, especially if the object being molded requires high accuracy.These are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using plasticine.
Most educational institutions always prioritize intellectual intelligence / IQ alone, even though fine motor skills are also very important, because fine motor skills and intelligence both play a role in learning activities (Virawanti & Sugiarto, 2022).In addition, in general people prioritize IQ intelligence only and give less importance to fine motor skills, this also happens in Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung.Based on the Pre-Survey that the researchers conducted, students at Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung, children's fine motor skills are still low, this can be seen when working on any skill task, there are still many children who only imitate and do not dare / do not want to try to add other forms from existing examples.In addition, many students look bored, sleepy, less interested, and some even play alone when working on skills such as drawing, coloring, tracing, cutting or other skills.Even though if children are not bored working on skills, the results of children's activities or workshops can develop children's visual spatial intelligence.With hand skills, children can manipulate materials and their fine motor skills are trained.
Various efforts have been made by teachers in developing students' fine motor skills, such as drawing on the page, coloring existing pictures, and so on.However, the development of fine motor skills in students has not been obtained significantly.Of the 20 students only 8 students can draw freely as instructed by the teacher, even in holding the correct pencil and rayon they are still difficult.Therefore, researchers feel the need to conduct research using the formulation of the problem whether the use of plasticine media can develop fine motor skills in early childhood at Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung.

METHODOLOGY
This type of research is Classroom Action Research, where researchers observe learning activities in the form of an action, which is deliberately raised and occurs in a class together.The nature of research in this Classroom Action Research is participatory in the sense that research is involved in research.Collaborative in nature because it involves other people in the research, and qualitative in nature because researchers interact with research subjects naturally, in the sense that research goes according to the course of the teaching and learning process, by making observations, conducting research systematically, and drawing conclusions as befits qualitative researchers.The PTK model in question describes four steps and their repetition, which are presented in Action Plan, Implementation, Observation, and Reflection (E.Mulyasa, 2009).
The subjects of this study were students of Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung as many as 20 children.The technique used observation, interview, and documentation.The analysis model used in this research is an interactive model that starts with data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing/verification.The data analysis process is carried out continuously in the data collection process during the research.

Plasticine Media
Plasticine is a wax/night material that children use for play that can be used over and over again as it is not hardened.Wax is a three-dimensional material, which means it allows children to have more creative freedom than they would with twodimensional materials such as painting or drawing.With wax, children can freely create pieces of wax into realistic, imaginary or symbolic things.
Plasticine belongs to the clay group, which means clay.Clay is a natural material that can be processed and shaped into a kind of pottery or we also call ceramics (Kholbu, Astawa, Nurhasanah, & Rachmayani, 2023).Clay dough is a kind of dough resembling ceramic dough.Clay that has been formed can harden and can be used as decoration as needed.There are several types of clay, including: 1. Night wax (color clay) Toy wax is physically flexible and smooth, making it easy to shape into anything, already has a color and cannot harden.

Paper clay
Paper clay is made from a mixture of paper soaked in water and glue.This clay is usually white and must be painted if you want to produce colorful clay and can harden by aerating.Paperclay is clay that is dried in the open air.

Clay plasticine media (flour clay)
Clay plasticine media can be made by yourself using cornstarch, tapioca, rice flour, and benzoate mixed with white glue.Clay flour is one of the educational game tools (APE), Clay can develop aspects of development, encourage activity and creativity (Kalsum, Astawa, Rachmayani, & Astini, 2021).With the types of clay or plasticine materials above, we can choose which plasticine material is most appropriate for us to use according to our needs in learning activities that will be played by early childhood.Because if we choose the wrong type of material, it is feared that children will not be able to play it, such as squeezing plasticine material that is too tense will make it difficult for children.
There are several basic techniques in forming plasticine media, including: 1. Rolling This technique is used to make a circle using both palms.

Rolling
Forming a sheet using a wooden log or marker.There are two kinds of rolling techniques.First, rolling with a thickness that suits your own wishes.Second, grinding with a thickness gauge.3. Pressing a) Pressing with the forefinger.Place the night on the table and press with the forefinger.b) Pressing with the forefinger with a pull.Place the night on the table and press with the index finger and then pull down.c) Pressing with the forefinger and palm.Place the night in the center of the palm, then press with the index finger.d) Pressing with the thumb.Place the night on the table or pinch between the thumb and forefinger, then press with the thumb.e) Pressing with the heel of the palm.Place the night on the mica or table then press with the heel of the palm.f) Pressing with tools such as pencils, bottle caps, buttons, bolts and combs.
Place the night on the mica or table, then press using the tool with the help of the palm of the hand.

Squeezing
Squeezing or pressing with the fingertips until it becomes the desired shape.

Rolling
Using several fingers, palms, or tools to make a long coil or round.

Cutting
Cut the wax directly with scissors or stick the wax on a gauze pad, then cut it out.

Cutting
Cut the wax with a carving tool or mica sheet into the desired shape.

Carving
Carve the night with a carving tool or pencil.9. Connecting Connect directly between the nights or use toothpicks or straws.10.Pasting Attach the molded or unmolded night to the desired place.By playing with plasticine, the child learns to squeeze, grind, thin and slim it, he builds concepts about objects, their changes and the causes and effects they cause.He engages his senses in his world, develops hand-eye coordination, recognizes the permanence of objects and explores the concepts of space and time..

Early Childhood Fine Motor
Motor is the translation of the word "motor" which according to Samsudin is a biological or mechanical basis that causes motion (Lutan, 2013).In other words, movement is a reflection of an action based on the motor process.Because motor (motor) causes a movement (movement), then every use of the word motor is always associated with motion.In everyday use, there is often no distinction between motor and motion.However, what must always be noted is that the motion referred to here is not only solely related to motion as we see it every day, namely the movement of the limbs (hands, arms, legs, and legs) through the body's organs (muscles and skeleton), but motor is a motion in which it involves motor functions such as the brain, nerves, muscles and skeleton (Ilham Kamaruddin, Achmad Abdul Azis, Mohammad Syahru Assabana, Arif Ismunandar, & Duwi Meilina, 2022).
Sumantri states that fine motor is the organization of the use of a group of small muscles such as fingers and hands that often require accuracy and coordination with the hand, skills that include the use of using tools to work on an object (Purnamasari, 2020).The same thing was stated by Yudha and Rudyanto quoted by Imam Musbikin, stating that fine motor is the ability of children to do activities using fine (small) muscles such as writing, squeezing, drawing, arranging blocks and inserting marbles.Meanwhile, according to Uyu Wahyudin and Mubiar Agustin, fine motor is the child's ability to show and master beautiful muscle movements in the form of coordination, dexterity and dexterity in using hands and fingers.
Based on some of the above opinions, the author can explain that fine motor is a movement that only involves certain parts of the body and is carried out by small muscles, such as the skill of using the fingers and the right wrist movement.Therefore, these movements do not require too much energy, but they do require careful coordination of eyes and hands.The better the child's fine motor movements, the more creative the child can be, such as cutting paper, drawing, coloring, and weaving.However, not all children have the maturity to master this ability at the same stage.
In fine motor development is the process of growth and development of a child's ability to move in line with the maturity of the child's nerves and muscles, so that the simplest movement is the result of a complex pattern of interaction from various parts and systems in the body controlled by the brain.For more details, the following are the stages of development of fine motor skills of children of this age as follows: Table 2  Based on the table above, the author can explain as follows: 1. Age 1 -2 years At the age of 1 year, all kinesthetic abilities and skills have been formed.For this reason, it is necessary to provide stimulation development with additions to the shape, media, level of difficulty, and others.At this age, children's fine motor development abilities are usually in the form of modeling circular shapes, being able to arrange and build a monument consisting of 7 blocks, putting an empty spoon into the mouth correctly.Some children are also able to open the pages of their books one by one, holding a glass with one hand.There are even children who can cut and fold paper while having a conversation.While an easy way to develop gross motor skills at this age is to play a lot with children such as running, jumping, throwing, catching, rolling, and others.Children will more easily learn to throw than catch.
To improve the child's ability to catch a ball or object, parents should play throw-catch.In this way, the child's eye and hand coordination skills will also be trained.When the child is able to catch and throw, the level of difficulty can be increased.For example, increasing the distance of the throw-catch, replacing the bigger ball with a smaller one, and the direction of the throw getting faster.These techniques will help strengthen the child's arm muscles and develop fine and gross motor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual-spatial, reaction speed and flexibility.All of which, according to Bambang, are responses from brain cells.Fine and gross motor skills are useful for writing, drawing, painting and other hand skills.Children can also be trained to develop leg muscles, such as kicking a ball, jumping on two feet, and climbing stairs (with adult assistance, of course).

Age 3 -4 years
At this age the child is able to make straight lines, arrange 9 blocks, put a spoon filled with food into the mouth without spilling much.At this age you can teach him to write.Because between the ages of 3.5 -4.5 years, the muscle and finger control needed to write symbols is easier to acquire than the coordination of the speech organs needed for language development.
In addition, at this age children can draw following shapes, draw vertical lines, trace circles, open and close boxes, and cut paper following straight line patterns.Can draw and scribble letters even in rough shapes.Able to put on their own clothes.In addition, at this age, children can draw what they know, not what they see, start writing things and are able to control their hand movements, cut zig zags, curves, shape with wax, and complete a 4-piece puzzle.At this age, children's skills and abilities are actually not much different from children aged 1-2 years.The only real difference is the quality.
Children aged 3-4 years run faster than children aged 1-2 years, throw faster, and are able to catch well.Gross motor skills of children's leg muscles, in addition to walking and running fast, include being able to jump with two feet, climbing ropes, kicking the ball with the right and left feet.For gross motor skills of the arm muscles, children are able to throw balls in various directions, climb ropes with their hands, push chairs, and others.Skills involving fine motor skills for eye-hand coordination, namely being able to bounce the ball several times, catch a ball with a smaller diameter, float a balloon, scribble skills are getting better.
To further develop fine motor skills and abilities, children can be given kinesthetic stimulation.He gave examples of things such as walking or running zigzag, walking and running backwards to develop the right brain, jumping with two feet in various directions, kicking the ball with the right or left foot in various directions, throwing the ball in various directions with medium to small balls, throwing the ball to targets such as letters, numbers, or pictures, catching the ball from various directions, playing badminton, doodling various geometric shapes to develop the left and right brain, and moving both hands and feet by hitting a toy drum.

Age 4 -6 years
At this age the child is able to fold paper into triangular shapes, can precisely draw squares, letters, and numbers.In games he can catch a small ball and throw it back better.They can even walk along a straight line.For this age, the child can also fold, cut according to patterns, arrange building construction toys, color more neatly not out of line, and imitate writing.
At the age of 5-6 years, almost all kinesthetic movements can be done efficiently and effectively.Their movements are well coordinated.However, children in this age group prefer games that do not involve much gross motor skills.They prefer games that use thinking skills such as playing puzzles, blocks, unloading cars, and starting to be interested in games on computers and play stations.

Developing children's fine motor skills through plasticine media
This class action research was conducted to develop students' fine motor skills by using plasticine media and can be said to be successful if 80% of the number of students in class A have reached the assessment standard with the predicate of developing very well.Based on the results of observations, interviews and documentation that the author obtained during class action research in cycles I and II using plasticine media, it can be explained as follows:

Results of Action in Cycle I
a. Planning In this stage, the teacher works together with the researcher/observer in determining the sequence of learning materials and their scope by making a daily activity plan with the theme of self-identity.Then make and complete props such as alphabet pictures, plasticine, picture books, pencils and crayons.... Then the teacher and researcher also determine that in this learning activity using plasticine media, making observation sheets to observe student activities, teacher activities and learning activities and finally designing evaluation tools in accordance with learning objectives.

b. Implementation of Action
In the implementation of this cycle I action, teachers and researchers alternate roles in teaching and learning activities, at the first meeting the researcher as an observer and at the second meeting the researcher as a teacher and will be explained in the activities below: Initial Activities: 1) Saying greetings and conditioning children before learning activities 2) Lead prayer before the activity 3) Delivering apperception of the delivery of learning facilities 4) Invite students to talk about self-identity Core Activities: 1) The teacher gives an example in mentioning self-identity 2) The teacher gives an example of forming the letters "i-b-u" and "a-k-u" with plasticine while looking at the alphabet picture for children who have not memorized the alphabet letters.
3) Teacher shapes own name with plasticine learners pay attention then they imitate making End Activity: 1) Invite students to tell stories about self-identity 2) Review, ask questions and conclude the activities that have been done in a day.
3) Pray with students after the activity then close with greetings.

c. Observation
At this stage, the observer (researcher) uses child involvement observations that are used to students to find out the obstacles experienced by students during the learning process, as well as to determine the child's ability to make various kinds of shapes according to the child's wishes.The researcher concluded that in this cycle the students had looked quite active and their fine motor skills began to develop better, this was seen when the teacher invited them to form their names with plasticine, they seemed to be busy squeezing, rolling and pressing the plasticine to form according to the desired letter, they were very enthusiastic but some of them still looked confused and had to look at the alphabet picture media because they had not memorized the alphabet letters.

d. Reflection
Teachers and researchers are looking for solutions to the shortcomings and obstacles that occur during learning, by trying to attract more students' attention by starting to tell stories first before starting the material with plasticine media, then plasticine media is given in larger quantities so that students can form letters or other objects with more and feel satisfied and not bored because they can make the specified material with enthusiasm so that fine motor skills in themselves can develop well.
After observations in cycle I, here are the results of the percentage value of students who have developed their fine motor skills in cycle I: Based on the percentage above, the development of fine motor skills of students through the use of plasticine media in forming letters as their names or identities is quite good, but has not yet reached the success indicator, namely 80% of children have developed very well, thus this research is continued in cycle II.

Results of Action in Cycle II
a. Planning In this stage, teachers and researchers work together with researchers/observers to determine the sequence of learning materials and their coverage according to the results of the reflection in cycle I by making a daily activity plan with the theme of my needs and the sub-theme of fruits.Then make and complete props such as pictures of fruits and various kinds of plasticine that are more in number and color.Then determine that in this learning activity using plasticine media and make observation sheets to observe student activities, teacher activities and learning activities and finally design evaluation tools in accordance with learning objectives.

b. Implementation of Action
In the implementation of this cycle II action, teachers and researchers alternate roles in teaching and learning activities, at the first meeting the researcher as an observer and at the second meeting the researcher as a teacher and will be explained in the following activities.Initial Activities: 1) Saying greetings and conditioning children before learning activities 2) Lead a prayer before the activity 3) Delivering apperception of the delivery of learning facilities 4) Inviting students to talk about fruits Core Activities: 1) The teacher gives examples of pictures of fruits with picture media 2) The teacher gives examples of forming various fruits with plasticine.
3) The teacher shapes his/her favorite fruit with plasticine.The students pay attention and then they imitate making it using plasticine in larger quantities.End Activity: 1) Invite students to tell stories about fruits 2) Review, ask questions and conclude the activities that have been done.
3) Praying with students after the activity then closed with greetings.

c. Observation
At this stage, the researcher concluded that in this cycle the students looked active and began to develop then the fine motor improvement they had was getting better, this was seen when the teacher invited them to form various types of fruit using plasticine such as apples, oranges, watermelons, grapes and so on, then they welcomed with enthusiasm and no one looked bored or played alone anymore.Then more students who look a lot of making various forms of fruit more than what the teacher and researcher exemplified and all of that shows the development of fine motor skills of students.

d. Reflection
Teachers and researchers are looking for solutions and ways out again for students who still feel difficulties and obstacles that occur during learning, namely in every activity carried out the teacher tries to attract the attention of students again more specifically to students who have not developed fine motor skills by starting to tell stories first before starting the material with plasticine media.The results of this reflection in cycle II will be carried out by teachers and researchers in the next cycle in the hope of improving activities in cycle II.
After observations in cycle II, the following are the results of the percentage value of students who have developed or not fine motor skills: Based on the percentage above, the development of fine motor skills of students through the use of plasticine media in forming fruits is good, because the number of students who developed very well increased to 17 children, which was only 12 children in the first cycle.From cycle I and Cycle II, it turns out that the targeted achievement standard of 80% has been achieved.
Based on the description above, the existing assessment standards, namely not yet developing, starting to develop and developing very well obtained by students during learning takes place in the pre-cycle or initial observation, cycle I and II using plasticine media can be explained in the graph as follows:

CONCLUSION
Based on the above results, the authors conclude that after the use of plasticine media as a learning medium in developing the fine motor skills of class A students at Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung conducted through class action research in cycles I and II can develop fine motor skills of students obtained through observation of the results of students' activities in each cycle and show very good results.
the child yarn and a block with a hole in it.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Fine Motor Development of Class A Students at Mutiara Insani Kindergarten Bandar Lampung in Cycles I and II