This awesome list of fine motor activities is just what you need to help develop early childhood skills. Try these fun activities to engage fine motor work in everyday play. Fine motor fun is just a roundup away.
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Fine motor skills help do the work of exploring, testing, and creating for early learners.
Related: What exactly do we mean by fine motor skills? article from The OT Toolbox
Many activities in everyday play support fine motor skills. Snapping small blocks together, shaping play dough, and turning book pages are activities that specifically target small motor muscles in the hand, fingers and thumb.
Making crafts like our lace butterfly, arranging loose parts to make a sun, and placing mini figures in a small world barnyard all engage fine motor skills.
This roundup will help you find easy and fun ways to engage fine motor skills in daily play.
Fine motor activities
Squeeze and shape and cut play dough or modeling clay.
Stretch elastics around crayons in a geoboard activity.
Play a bowling game with small blocks or set up a small world equestrian activity.
Pull threads from burlap to make a fish craft.
Make a hand print lacing craft with a doily.
Glue paper shapes in flower designs.
Arrange felt cut-outs on a flannel board to make a cute caterpillar.
Twist and pull small gadgets on a portable busy board.
Build a bird nest with mixed materials.
Sort small twigs to make letters of the alphabet.
Practice using fasteners in a homemade busy book.
Apply pompoms to sticky tape in a fun art activity.
Set up small world play with a cardboard box.
Sort tiny seeds found in foods.
Paint with creative paint tools made with craft sticks.
Make a beautiful bouquet with artificial flowers and a funnel.
More fine motor fun from family bloggers!
Fine motor activities from Preschool Inspirations.
Help for the hands from Mosswood Connections
Fine motor skills activities from The Imagination Tree
Fine motor play
Early childhood skills such as fine motor are exercised through hands-on exploration and experimentation. Kids benefit from activities simply by playing and having fun.
Choose something from this list everyday to help kids develop the dexterity needed for later learning.
