Fine Motor Activities
Fine motor activities are important for children to practice so that they are able to strengthen the muscles that they need for writing, cutting and many other important tasks. The following activities can be used for practice, and they are also pretty fun!
- Pick up objects (blocks, cotton balls, counters,etc) using various sized tongs, transferring them between containers.
- Stack objects (i.e. coins, cards, checkers, blocks, etc.) - Screw and unscrew objects such as nuts and bolts, caps from jars, etc.
- String beads onto a shoelace.
- Cut straight/ curved lines/shapes drawn on paper, cloth, etc. (children's size scissors)
- Play the piano.
- Type (kids get a kick out of pretending to type letters, etc!)
- Play finger soccer/ football (use fingers to flick
- Shuffle cards, deal cards one by one, turn cards over.
- Knead dough.
- Use tweezers to pick up small objects.
- Move spoonfuls of small objects from one bowl to another.
- Do up buttons, zippers, hooks, etc.
- Trace and copy letters.
- Do connect the dot puzzles.
- Solve mazes.
- Tie a box with string or ribbon.
- Put keys into locks to open doors.
- Put paper clips onto paper.
- Dial a telephone.
- Use Wikki Stix (available at Lakeshore) to form shapes, letters, numbers, and other designs. You may want to use a template.
- Color using the flat side of a crayon. Put paper over leaves, stencils, and other objects so that the child gets sensory feedback as he colors.
- Use sprayer bottles filled with water and sponges to have the child "clean" a desk or table, then squeeze the excess water into a dishpan or water their very own potted flower. This is a great pre-scissor skill activity.
- Lace various sized beads. Any activity involving the use of both hands is good to develop bilateral integration. - Use a turkey baster or eye dropper to squeeze water and squirt it out.
- Pick up objects (blocks, cotton balls, counters,etc) using various sized tongs, transferring them between containers.
- Stack objects (i.e. coins, cards, checkers, blocks, etc.) - Screw and unscrew objects such as nuts and bolts, caps from jars, etc.
- String beads onto a shoelace.
- Cut straight/ curved lines/shapes drawn on paper, cloth, etc. (children's size scissors)
- Play the piano.
- Type (kids get a kick out of pretending to type letters, etc!)
- Play finger soccer/ football (use fingers to flick
- Shuffle cards, deal cards one by one, turn cards over.
- Knead dough.
- Use tweezers to pick up small objects.
- Move spoonfuls of small objects from one bowl to another.
- Do up buttons, zippers, hooks, etc.
- Trace and copy letters.
- Do connect the dot puzzles.
- Solve mazes.
- Tie a box with string or ribbon.
- Put keys into locks to open doors.
- Put paper clips onto paper.
- Dial a telephone.
- Use Wikki Stix (available at Lakeshore) to form shapes, letters, numbers, and other designs. You may want to use a template.
- Color using the flat side of a crayon. Put paper over leaves, stencils, and other objects so that the child gets sensory feedback as he colors.
- Use sprayer bottles filled with water and sponges to have the child "clean" a desk or table, then squeeze the excess water into a dishpan or water their very own potted flower. This is a great pre-scissor skill activity.
- Lace various sized beads. Any activity involving the use of both hands is good to develop bilateral integration. - Use a turkey baster or eye dropper to squeeze water and squirt it out.
