Here is a collection of 40 fine motor skills activities for young children that are easy to set up and promote a whole range of skills. They’re creative, open-ended, appropriate and varied with ideas for practising motor skills through art, sensory play and simple manipulative games, and there are so many to choose from!
One of the most important ways we can help our children while playing with them at home or in a childcare/ classroom setting is through setting up simple activities that help to develop fine motor skills. Young children need to be able to hold and use scissors and pencils appropriately before using them in a classroom context. We cannot expect them to be able to write if they haven’t yet developed the strength needed in their hands and fingers.
There are plenty of easy ways to strengthen these muscles, practise co-ordination and develop hand:eye co-ordination using simple, everyday materials and a bit of creative fun! Here are 40 that we have done over the past few years with babies to 5 year olds. There are a million variations you could make from each of these to cater for your own child’s particular interests and learning dispositions. Use these as a springboard and pin it for future reference too!
[Herbal play dough with natural materials to explore]
My personal favourite tool for developing all fine motor skills is the humble ball of homemade play dough. It can be used in SO many ways by adding other combinations of materials to it, and automatically strengthens little hands as they roll, squeeze, twist and build with it. Here is a whole post about the benefits of playing with play dough and a handy guide to starting out with building your own play dough tool kit. Of course, baking with real dough is another wonderful way to play and learn simultaneously!
The many benefits of play dough (and a tool kit)
Other activities we have loved have included exploring sensory play materials, transporting small parts, threading beads, hands-on art projects, cutting and sticking, tearing and scrunching papers, opening and closing fastenings and countless others. Here is a selection of some of those favourites, all of which can be adapted for different age groups and abilities.
Threading with beads onto pipe cleaners
Threading, posting and slotting toys for babies and toddlers
Hair rollers sticky construction
Mark making and scooping in lavender sensory salt
Sorting and pattern making with shells
Snipping and doodling sticky stained glass windows
Whisking up coloured sensory soap
Golly Anna! What a bumper collection! Love it.
What a great and amazing ideas !! I love it all !
Thank you for sharing …
Love it, pinned for future reference! especially love the salt fairy dust.
I am doing some early childhood graduate work with 2s and 3s…looking forward to incorporating many of these ideas…especially the twigs or birthday candles into dough activities! Thank you.
Wow! You have a great selection of fine motor activities here! I used a lot of fine motor activities with my kindergartener last year because he had so much trouble holding a pencil. At the start of this new school year he has already shown me how well he can hold a pencil and print now! I’ll be using some of these to continue helping him with his fine motor, as well as his younger sister. Thank you for sharing!
I’m a teacher’s aid in a SPED class and my students absolutely love sensory art and so many of these fine motor activities would be great for them! Thanks for sharing your great ideas and awesome projects!
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Wonderful tips for when the grandchildren come round.Excellent!!!
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