*This post contains affiliate links. Read more.
What Are Classroom Centers?
In most preschool, primary, and elementary classrooms, at some point during the day, you’ll find some version of “center time”.
Centers are stations that are set up in different areas around the classroom, each with an activity to target a different academic or other skill (e.g. literacy, handwriting, math). Students are divided into small groups to work in the centers either independently while the teacher works with another small group or with the teacher circulating between the activity stations.
Often, teachers have students rotate between the stations so they are at a different center each day of the week and the activities are typically changed out frequently to keep them fresh.
Why Are Classroom Centers Important?
Classroom centers are an awesome way for kids to show what they can do independently. Working in a small group like this requires more than just an understanding of an academic skill. It requires self-regulation, attention, and social skills.
Center time provides the teacher with an opportunity to work with smaller groups of students at a time as he or she runs one center or circulates throughout the classroom to support students as they work.
Classroom activity stations offer kids an extra chance to practice previously introduced concepts in a more hands-on way, which is great for developing solid understanding and memory.
For therapists, classroom centers are an ideal time to offer push-in services, where they can deliver therapy sessions to the students on their caseload right inside the classroom, alongside their peers.
100 Fine Motor & Gross Motor Classroom Center Activities
If you’re a therapist looking to get inspired with some awesome push-in therapy activities…
If you’re a teacher who knows how important those foundation fine motor and gross motor activities are to ensure overall success in the classroom…
If you’re a parent looking for some fun rainy day activities to try with your kiddos at home…
These are the activities for you!
If you’re a therapist, try using one of these options as your direct therapy session and then leave the center behind for the classroom to continue using until the following week (the teacher will love you because they’ll have one less center to create!).
We’ve also used the sensory table in the preschool or kindergarten classroom as a way to keep manipulatives and small pieces in one place while we work. Leave the activity behind when you move on to your next session and the teacher can uncover some fine motor fun throughout the week when you’re gone!
50 Fine Motor Classroom Center Ideas
1 || Monster Munch Fine Motor Game
2 || Vehicle Cutting Activity for Kids
3 || Crazy Straw Fine Motor Activity
5 || Activities for Teaching Kids How to Use Glue
8 || Tape Mazes Cutting Activity
10 || Paint Samples and Hole Punches
11 || Hand Strengthening Activities
14 || Sticky Note Fine Motor/Visual Motor Art
15 || Meet Me in the Middle Cutting Activity
19 || Ideas for Working on Vertical Surfaces
23 || Learning How to Button Kit
24 || Occupational Therapy Apps for Kids
26 || Play Dough – Fun Ways to Play
27 || Clothespin Feed the Bird Activity
29 || Stickers and Marbles Activity
30 || Plastic Canvas and Pipe Cleaners
31 || Read, Build, Write Handwriting Mats
32 || Unifix Letter Cubes
33 || Storytelling Cubes
36 || I Spy Mats With Flat Sided Marbles
37 || Lite Brite
38 || Printable Pompom Mats With Tongs
39 || More Ideas for Teaching Kids How to Use Scissors
41 || Feed the Tennis Ball – Cut a slit in the ball, draw a face, making the slit into the mouth. Roll dice, have kids feed the tennis ball the correct number of buttons, beads, or coins.
42 || Make Your Own Fidget Toys – Use center time to make DIY fidget toys – a great fine motor skill building activity that leaves kids with awesome sensory tools to use in the classroom!
43 || Educational Insights Playfoam Shape & Learn Alphabet Set
44 || Pattern Blocks and Boards
45 || Little Hands Picture Mosaic
46 || Adventure Puzzles (Highlights™ Sticker Hidden Pictures®)
48 || The Wikki Stix Book of Wiggles, Squiggles & Curlicues
49 || Pre-Handwriting Fine Motor Activities Fun Deck
50 Gross Motor Classroom Center Ideas
1 || Card Games to Promote Movement
3 || Sticker Activities for Learning and Movement
4 || Streamer Activities for Kids
5 || Scooter Activities for Kids
7 || Single Leg Stance Activities
8 || Fun Ways to Play in Quadruped
9 || Balance Practice Activities
11 || Simple Yoga Mat Activities
12 || Barnyard Buzzer Activities
13 || 13 Ways to Play With a Foam Roller
14 || Fish Sensory Motor Lesson Plan
16 || Lego Gross Motor Activity
18 || Balance Activities Using a Foam Balance Pad
19 || The Core Strengthening Exercise Program
20 || The Core Strengthening Handbook
22 || Balance Beam Learning Activities
23 || Jumping Animals Activities
24 || Movement Games Using Bubble Wrap
25 || Feed the Frogs Movement Game
26 || Creative Core Exercises for Kids
27 || Connect-a-Band Activties
28 || Pumpkin Relay Race – Try this with a ball instead if it’s not pumpkin season!
29 || Gross Motor Activities Using Blocks
30 || Crab Crossover Activity
31 || Mirror, Mirror Partner Movement Activity
32 || Wacky Relay Group Movement Game
33 || Partner Yoga – or try Snowga in the winter!
35 || Bean Bag Gross Motor Fun
37 || Fancy Footwork Left Right Game
40 || Heavy Work for Small Spaces
42 || Ready, Set, Move Classroom Activity Set
44 || Therapy Ball Activities Fun Deck Cards
47 || Therapy Ball Activities for Kids
48 || Classroom Chores – Cleaning desks, sweeping floors, wiping windows, marker boards, and other vertical surfaces
Whew! It’s a big list, right? Don’t worry and don’t feel overwhelmed! This list is meant to make things easier not harder!
Simply pin this post (just hover over one of the images) or bookmark it for later so you can come back to it each week throughout the year to grab a quick fine motor or gross motor idea for your classroom center and/or push-in therapy session.
[…] If you’re a teacher, these hands on math activities would be awesome to try as an independent classroom center. […]