FINE MOTOR SKILLS: 20 CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
These creative activities are perfect for targeting fine motor skills and would be great to use in the classroom as warm-ups before handwriting activities or to give busy little hands something to do during downtime at home.
I often leave fine motor activities in the classroom for kids to use during indoor recess or centers time. I’ll leave them in the sensory table or in a large tupperware container for the teacher to use for an extra dose of fine motor fun after I’m gone.
This is about the time of year when I slip into a little winter rut. That fresh, new school year feeling is long gone and I start to get bored of all of the activities in my therapy bag of tricks (and if I’m bored, the kids are probably bored too, right?).
But not this year! I’m bound and determined to stay inspired and to bring activities to work that will keep my kiddos engaged, motivated, and interested during therapy sessions. And what better place to find inspiration than from our fellow kids activities bloggers? Check out these awesome fine motor ideas for kids!
1 || Monster Munch Fine Motor Game from Lalymom
We love how Laura over at Lalymom always seems to appeal to kids’ sense of humor with her activities. This one is awesome for strengthening little fingers and is way more fun than just playing around with a bunch of clothespins – I mean, they’re little monsters! SO cute!
2 || Homemade Weaving Looms from Popsicle Sticks from Buggy and Buddy
No one loves a good old-fashioned weaving activity more than an OT! We had so much fun with the simple outdoor weaving loom we made in our backyard over the summer and this miniature version makes it a perfectly portable fine motor and visual motor activity!
3 || Homemade Cardboard Construction Set from Happy Hooligans
I just whipped up a set of these the other night to try out with my preschoolers this week. Easy to make, great for bilateral skills, and free! This will be the perfect thing to leave in the classroom sensory table – can’t wait to see what they create!
4 || Muffin Tin Geoboard from And Next Comes L
Who would have thought to turn a mini muffin tin into a geoboard?? Genius! Lots of great strengthening and bilateral work going on here and using novel materials like rubber bands is the perfect way to keep their interest.
5 || Simple Sewing Jars from Teach Preschool
These simple little sewing jars are a school OT’s dream. Storing the strings right inside the jars makes them portable and quick-on-the-draw for eager little hands to start working. Again, awesome for working on bilateral coordination as well as visual motor integration and grasping skills.
6 || Pincer Fine Motor Skill Practice from Powerful Mothering
If you liked the Monster Munch activity above, you’ll love this cute spin on clothespin pinching for fine motor strengthening. I’m saving this one for spring – the kids will love the little birds and chicks!
7 || Fine Motor Activity to Keep Kids Busy from Hands On As We Grow
I’m actually using this activity in my therapy sessions today. It was just so darn easy, I couldn’t pass it up! And such a fun and different way to warm up and challenge kids’ fine motor strength and coordination. Different sized rubber bands = all different types of fine motor challenges. They’re loving it!
8 || Fine Motor Skills With Crazy Straws from Powerful Mothering
This one has become a favorite with my preschool students. Another activity with an easy setup, easy cleanup, and a great way to work on bilateral skills and coordination.
9 || Play Dough Tool Kit from Modern Parents, Messy Kids
I thought I had thought of every conceivable way to play with play dough…until I saw this awesome post from Modern Parents, Messy Kids. So many fun trinkets and treasures to add to add to play dough – and all great for grasping, coordination, strengthening, and more!
10 || DIY Lacing Cards from Skunkboy
These have to be the cutest lacing cards I’ve ever seen. This activity involves quite a bit more prep and setup than some of the others I’ve featured here, but the final product is so awesome and I think kids would really get a kick out of it if their lacing cards were personalized!
11 || Scissors Quick Tip from The Inspired Treehouse
We came back from winter break and it seems as though all of my kids forgot how to use scissors! What happened??!! Time to go back to the basics with this easy quick-fix for reminding kids how to cut on a line.
12 || Fine Motor Mini Drop Box from Racheous Lovable Learning
Here’s an awesome fine motor activity that keeps little hands busy while challenging fine motor and visual motor skills. It would be the perfect thing to leave in a classroom for kids who struggle during independent work times.
13 || DIY Pool Noodle Pom Pom Shooter from Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
This one is just plain fun. I’m thinking of holding a pom pom shooter showdown in one of our preschool classrooms sometime soon to break up the monotony of winter. Shooting pompoms at a target would also make a really fun motor station during centers time in the classroom (with close supervision, of course!)
14 || Beaded Snowflakes from The Inspired Treehouse
One of our most popular posts at The Inspired Treehouse! We did this one last year with our preschoolers and kindergarteners and it was a big hit! I’ll definitely bring out this old favorite again sometime this winter. I was thinking it would be fun to make the pipe cleaner snowflakes ahead of time and then leave them in the classroom with a bunch of beads so the kids can decorate and redecorate their snowflakes again and again!
15 || DIY Felt Button Chain from Tips from a Typical Mom
This cool button chain is an awesome new twist on button snakes like these from Happy Hooligans that I’ve used in therapy for years. An fun and novel way to help kids practice clothing fasteners! Love it!
16 || Creating with Plastic Canvas and Pipe Cleaners from Buggy and Buddy
Here’s a fun way to practice lacing! I love that the materials are a little more rigid than a typical lacing card and string, making it easier and more attainable for younger kids. This is awesome for bilateral coordination, grasping skills, and visual motor skills.
17 || Fine Motor Heart Art from The Inspired Treehouse
I love a good fine motor craft! This would be perfect for Valentine’s Day, but you could make just about any shape or design for any season using this technique. Great practice with scissors and awesome visual motor and fine motor work too!
18 || Art Dice from Tinkerlab
Finally!! A fun new way to work on writing and prewriting skills! You could make dice to practice prewriting shapes, letters, numbers, and more!
19 || Q-Tip Snowflakes from Playdough to Plato
This is a great visual perceptual activity, as kids have to match and orient the q-tips in just the right way to make each snowflake. They’ll need lots of control and precision too!
20 || Play Dough Cutting Practice from Mama OT
Just discovered this awesome little gem from our friend Christie at Mama OT and have been using it all week to practice scissor skills with my younger students. It’s an amazing idea for giving kids a more tangible guideline for where to cut.
Such a great list, right? And this is only the beginning! Check out our Fine Motor Skills board on Pinterest for even more great ideas for building grasping skills, fine motor strength, bilateral coordination, and more!
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