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Pumpkin Fine Motor Skills Activity

October 17, 2016 by Anna Ranson

Set up a fun, no preparation,  pumpkin fine motor skills activity for Autumn play and learning! This combines motor skills and creativity and is a great hand strengthener for pre-writing development.pumpkin-and-rubber-bands-fine-motor-skills-activity

Last Autumn we set out an invitation to play with pine cones and rubber bands which was s popular with the kids and also looked lovely once completed.

pumpkin-and-rubber-bands-fine-motor-skills

This year I found some mini “munchkin” pumpkins in the supermarket and set them out in the same way, in a tray alongside a dish of coloured rubber bands. The pumpkins had segmented sides which lent themselves perfectly to this activity, as the rubber bands stayed in place and didn’t slip.

rubber-bands-and-pumpkins-fine-motor-activity

Miss 4 enjoyed this the most and it took her a while to work out how to open up the band wide enough to stretch it around the circumference. Once she had figured out how to get the band onto her fingers and use her thumb as the way to open it out, she managed to wrap lots of bands around them.

pumpkin-and-rubber-bands-fine-motor-activity

The criss-crossing of the rubber bands actually made a lovely effect, reminding me of the pumpkin string art project that we made a few years back too!pumpkin-fine-motor-activity-using-rubber-bands

She said “take a photo of what I did!”

pumpkins-and-rubber-bands-fine-motor-activity-for-autumn

This would be a great set up in a classroom fine motor skills table or Funky Fingers activity area! Add a timer and see how many they can get on in a minute for extra fun. Maybe use larger pumpkins and find more materials to wrap around them too!pumpkin-fine-motor-skills-activity-for-autumn

If you enjoyed this pumpkin fine motor skills activity you will probably love our Autumn play and learning ideas collection too!rubber-bands-and-pumpkins-fine-motor-activity-for-autumn

Please share this article with someone who is looking for more fine motor ideas! Thank you 🙂

We have a whole Fine Motor Skills Activities collection here to browse for more inspiration.

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Filed Under: Age, Fine Motor Development, Learn, Loose Parts, Motor Skills, Nature, Physical Development, Play Prompts, Pre-Writing, Preschooler, Pumpkins, School Age, Vegetables Tagged With: Autumn, Fall, Fine Motor Skills, Preschooler, Toddler

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Comments

  1. Kim says

    October 18, 2016 at 8:54 pm

    We have been looking for some pumpkin themed activities to try and this is definitely going on the list, it’s fab!

  2. Cathy at Indie Tot says

    October 18, 2016 at 9:13 pm

    I really like this idea, it’s so simple but really helps the kids work on their fine motor skills, and the set up is very inviting. You could also use this as a “minute to win it” game with older children!

  3. Sue Brooks says

    October 19, 2016 at 12:19 pm

    This looks like a great seque into painting pumkins.
    After wrapping in rubber bands paint the pumpkins.
    Let dry, remove rubber bands.
    Observe patterns left by rubber bands.
    Builds observation skills, small motor and vocabulary.

  4. Lauren Bridges says

    October 24, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    This was a huge hit with my two three-year olds. My one and two year olds were a bit too young for it, but they like imitating what the “big kids” were doing. Even our seven year old neighbor liked it. I’m glad I just found an alternate activity to do with the mini pumpkins we painted like three weeks ago!

Trackbacks

  1. Mini pumpkin fun... - Bell House Nursery says:
    November 1, 2016 at 9:05 pm

    […] Although Halloween has now been and gone (just!) we still love this idea for helping develop fine motor skills and strengthen little fingers and coordination. Seasonal festive fun with no preparation needed can be found at the imagination tree! […]

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About The Imagination Tree Hello and welcome! I'm Anna, Mama of 4, early years teacher and play enthusiast from the UK! Click here to read more about me.

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