Developing Fine motor skills

Fine motor skills are those that involve a refined use of the small muscles which control the hand, fingers and thumb. With the development of these skills, a child is able to complete important tasks such as writing, feeding oneself, buttoning and zippering clothing. All tasks which as crucial in day to day life.

Here is a collection of fine motor skills activities for young children that are easy to set up and promote a whole range of skills. They’re creative, open-ended, appropriate and varied with ideas for practising motor skills through art, sensory play and simple manipulative games and challenges.

• Pouring from one container to another- this would also be so much fun in the bathtub
• Putting coins into a money box – Kids love listening to the noise it makes too. To make this easier you can get them to post things into a cereal box.

• Popping bubble wrap – who doesn’t love doing this! It does need to be between two fingers to be working the right muscles
• Using scissors – just cutting to start with then cutting on the line, shapes. Just remember to be careful.
• Ripping – some kids just like ripping paper, maybe it’s the sound? You can rip up an old magazine to make pictures & collages
• Sorting M&M’s into colours (& putting them in your mouth!) Would works for skittles or similar sweets too
• Transferring objects from one bowl to another, first with fingers then with pincers. Beans, beads, buttons, rice, the smaller the object the harder it gets!
• Using building blocks – any kind of block build is great
• Watering the plants with a spray bottle
• And of course, using a crayon, pencil, paintbrush to create art.