Fine motor skills are essential for young children as they involve the coordination of small muscles in the hands and fingers. Developing these skills allows children to perform everyday tasks such as writing, buttoning clothes, and using utensils with ease. Activities like coloring, cutting with scissors, and playing with small objects help strengthen these muscles, leading to improved hand-eye coordination and overall dexterity. Encouraging fine motor development in young children sets a strong foundation for future academic success and independence in various activities.
Here are 100 activities for young children that help to strengthen fine motor skills:
1. Use tweezers to pick up objects
2. Use scissor scoopers with sand or dried rice
3. Clip clothespins onto objects
4. Use 3 prong tongs to pick up objects
5. Cut straws with scissors
6. Cut paper with scissors
7. Cut playdough with scissors
8. Use Lacing Cards
9. Put links together
10. Use Mini tongs to pick up objects
11. Use Pipettes/droppers to transfer water
12. String beads on pipe cleaners
13. Roll playdough into “snakes” and balls
14. Use cookie cutters and rollers with playdough
15. Cut paper with paper punchers
16. Use a water spray bottle
17. Color with crayons and markers
18. Color on a vertical surface
19. Use Dot Markers
20. Use spin tops
21. Use tape on projects
22. Scoop water, sand, or rice, or water beads
23. Use a funnel with water or sand
24. Hammer golf tees into Styrofoam or cardboard
25. Push golf tees into playdoh
26. Use a citrus squeezer with fruit or playdoh
27. Use a squeeze bottle during waterplay
28. Squeeze glue from a glue bottle during craft time
29. Use a glue stick
30. Tear paper into pieces and use with crafts
31. Glue tissue paper squares
32. Crumble paper into a ball
33. Wrap piper cleaners or rubber bands around popsicle sticks
34. Use chalk on a vertical chalkboard
35. Use sidewalk chalk outside
36. Use sprayable chalk with a bottle outside
37. Use a colander to stick objects in (feathers, pipe cleaners, dry pasta)
38. Count small manipulatives (mini erasers, counting objects)
39. Use loose parts to create designs
40. Put stickers on the paper and pull them off.
41. Use paper clips on paper
42. Use stampers on paper
43. Build with Legos or other blocks
44. Assemble a train track
45. Use keys with locks
46. “Write” and paint with Q-tips
47. Use rubber bands with Geobards
48. Wrap rubber bands around paper towel rolls
49. Open and close objects (easter eggs, Tupperware)
50. Help parents bake (mix, stir, whisk)
51. Use measuring cups and spoons
52. Do science experiments with pipettes and test tubes
53. Make a necklace with circular cereal and yarn- string the cereal
54. “Write” in sand, rice, or shaving cream with fingers
55. Use chip clips to attach to objects
56. Use pushpins on cardboard or bulletin board (adult supervision)
57. Make and squeeze a stress ball (balloon filled with flour, sand, or rice)
58. Wash with a sponge or wipe
59. Ice cookies with squeeze frosting or spoon
60. Pop bubble wrap
61. Use water droppers to paint with watercolor paint
62. Make kabobs with fruit or veggies and skewers (cut sharp end off)
63. Put an easy puzzle together
64. Serve food with kitchen tongs or a big spoon
65. Use a pom pom in a clothespin to “paint”
66. Stick toothpicks into a playdoh or clay ball
67. Make “beads”- roll playdoh and use a toothpick to make a hole, let dry
68. String beads on craft feathers
69. Use large perler beads (biggie beads) on pegboard or string on yarn
70. Weave yarn on loom or fingers
71. Make a yarn ball
72. Make letters and numbers out of popsicle sticks
73. Use a dice to count and play games
74. Blow bubbles with a bubble wand
75. String pasta on a necklace or bracelet with yarn or pipe cleaners
76. Put coins in a piggy bank
77. Trace hand on paper
78. Sing fingerplay songs (ex. Where is Thumbkin)
79. Use paint sticks
80. Use highlighters to trace over letters and numbers
81. Play tug of war
82. Use ribbons, pom poms, and handkerchiefs to dance with
83. Play musical instruments
84. Zip up clothing
85. Dress yourself
86. Dress dolls
87. Open doors with doorknobs
88. Brush teeth
89. Use dry erase markers and erase with eraser or tissue
90. Play board games
91. Squeeze silly putty
92. Use brads to make a spinner (open the prongs to make it stay in place)
93. Roll or fold strips of paper for craft projects
94. Play with kinetic, use tools and make balls
95. Squeeze and play with squishy toys
96. Use a pop it fidget toy
97. Stack blocks
98. Use magnetic shapes to make objects
99. Screw and unscrew lids (bottles, apple sauce packets)
100. Use building tools or pretend tool kits
