Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are things done with your hands, including imitating actions with objects, coloring a picture, grasping a pencil for writing, painting, typing, texting, playing the piano, etc.

Below are links or ideas of how to develop your child's fine motor skills.

Ideas

1. Hide small objects like coins or beads inside a lump of Silly Putty, modeling clay or homemade play dough. Have your child pull off pieces of the clay, using one finger and his thumb until the objects are revealed. You can also give your child a ball of the clay and have him practice pinching. It may be one of the few times you actually encourage him to pinch!
2. String large beads on a shoelace or piece of yarn with the end wrapped in tape. If you don't want into invest in beads, rigatoni noodles are the perfect size for this activity. You can even dye them different colors. Simply put some of them in a large, reclosable bag with a few drops of rubbing alcohol and some food coloring, shake until it's distributed and place the noodles on a layer of paper towels to dry overnight.
3. Transfer small items from one bowl to another using a clothespin. Again, coins or beads would work well for this activity. A variation is to use plastic tweezers to transfer grains of rice or Cheerios from one container to another.
4. Spray a dollop of shaving cream on your kitchen counter or table and have your child smear it into a thin layer. Have him use his index finger to practice writing letter, shapes, his name and to draw people. When he's done, give him a small, clean, damp sponge to wipe away the shaving cream in a side to side motion, encouraging him to use his arm and wrist and not to move his shoulders. A bonus of this activity is that the shaving soap will leave your table incredibly clean, even removing stubborn food stains.
5. Rip paper or newspaper into strips, placing both hands on the top of the page and pulling in opposite directions. Have your child put one strip at a time into the palm of his hand and try to crumple it into a ball using just the fingers of that hand. To increase the strength in both hands, remember to have him switch hands.
6. Invest in toys that use fine motor skills while your child is playing. For example: lacing cards, Legos, peg boards, Magnetix and erector sets all require good fine motor control.
7. Tape a large piece of paper to an easel or the wall and have your child practice drawing a line from the top to the bottom of the paper.
8. Used a large plastic ball or a smaller tennis balls or pet ball work just as well. Using the fingers of the hand, “walk” the ball up one leg, across the tummy and down the other leg. Make sure your child uses his “dominant hand” and does not switch hands! Also, watch to make sure he is using a “walking” motion with his fingers and not a grabbing motion!
9. Play dough gives great exercise – try squashing, rolling, pounding and moulding with the hands, without using any cutters or other traditional play dough toys.
10. Take an old Parmesan cheese container clean it out, put the lid on it, and have your child drop small items like small pom poms through the larger opening or depending on the size of the holes you can have them insert uncooked spaghetti noodles into side with the holes or you can have them insert the uncooked small twisted pasta into the holes.
11. Take an old plastic jar with a plastic lid you can cut a small slit in and have your child drop coins, poker chips, or anything that is thin that would slip down into the jar.

External Links

Therapy Fun Zone Fine motor skills development website address: therapyfunzone.net

Fine Motor Skills - Prekinders Fine motor skills development website address: prekinders.com/fine-motor-skills