• Fine Motor Development:  Hand & Wrist Strengthening Skills
     
    Below is a list of various activities and exercises which your child can perform to improve such skills as fine motor coordination and strengthening.  These are just a variety of ideas that may help your child.  Have fun!
     
    • Dot-to-Dot
    • Stencils/Tracers
    • Spirograph
    • Learn to draw books-Using shapes to draw
    • Play Doh
    • Paint/Color by numbers
    • Scissors activities
    • Origami
    • Colorforms
    • Construction Kits
    • Legos & other building materials
    • Magnadoodle/Etch-A-Sketch
    • Sidewalk chalk
    • Keyboard activities
    • Pick up Sticks
    • Lacing cards
    • Woodworking play toys:  hammer, screwdriver, etc
    • Coloring, drawing, tracing
    • Use Soft balls/Stress balls
    • Work on easel or slant board
    • Work drawing on belly
    • Sky writing/drawing
    • Use short pencils, crayons, chalk
    • Encourage child to color hard or soft and to notice a difference
    • Tearing & crumbling tissue paper
    • Finger touching: touch each finger to thumb
    • Trace lines & shapes
    • Use water color paint brush to write or draw
    • Bingo/Dot markers to trace numbers letters or fill in coloring book
    • Puzzles, card games
    • Shaving cream, Sand, & Rice:  Imitate letters, shapes, numbers
    • Coin translation:  Bring coin from pal to finger tips using only finger tips
    • Line up 10-20 coins:  Using fingertips to turn over as quickly as possible
    • Clothespins:  Open & Close to grasp and pass things (like pom poms)
    • Use tweezers to pick up small objects like cotton balls, foamies, buttons
    • Water toys/Squeeze sponge out
    • Eye dropper:  Drop specific amounts of water out of an eye dropper
    • Manipulate small objects in games like:  Jenga, Operation, Marbles, Ants in Pants
    • Finger Play/Puppets
    • Open/Close variety of containers
    • Baking:  recipes that require kneading, mixing, etc.
    • Use rolling pin to flatten clay, playdoh, putty, crackers, etc.  Use palms on pin instead of holding handles
    • Play tug of war with small hard to grip items such as coffee stirrers, laces, etc.
    • Donkey Kicks:  Kick feet up while placing weight on palms
    Feel free to ask questions or comment about your experiences!  Most of all...Have fun!
Last Modified on August 5, 2022