20 Engaging Fine Motor Activities for Kids - Fantastic Fun & Learning (2024)

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If you’ve followed early childhood sites for even a short amount of time, you’ve likely seen a lot of fine motor activities. But you may be wondering, “What’s the big deal?”

Fine motor muscles are those small muscles in the body that help us do things like pick up small objects, fasten clothing, tie shoes, and write. The more opportunities we give kids to practice using those muscles, the more small motor control they gain. As they gain more control of those fine motor muscles, the easier it will be to do fine motor tasks.

The great news is there are tons of fun fine motor activities for kids, so it’s easy to helps kids get the practice they need. Below are a few of the fine motor activities available on Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Fine Motor Activities

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LEARN MORE ABOUT FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Looking for more detailed information on supporting fine motor development? InBasics of Fine Motor Skills, you’ll learn which skills are important for fine motor development, plus what fine motor development looks like in children at all age levels. Your go-to-guide for everything fine motor related, it’s the perfect resource for parents, teachers, and therapists.

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We’ve also discussed teaching handwriting without tracing sheets more in depth in this article about developing fine motor skills and pre-writing activities.

Low-Prep Fine Motor Activities

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This Quick Fine Motor Activity with Q-Tips is a great way to keep your kids busy and let them practice their fine motor skills. Try it with toddlers and preschoolers.

Your kids will love putting together this fun and colorful Magnetic Letter Rainbow.

Figuring out which keys go to which locks with this Lock and Key Play activity is a fun fine motor challenge for kids.

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There are so many great uses for marshmallows and these Marshmallow Letters and Sculptures are no exception!

This Bottle Cap Fine Motor Fun is a great low prep activity for when you’re short on time. Squeezing the pipette to transfer water is a great way to strengthen fine motor muscles and work on fine motor control.

Fine Motor Math

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This Fine Motor and Sorting~Seed Tray will allow you to have so many different math and seed activities but also give your kids a chance to work on their fine motor skills.

As kids move the numbers on this fun DIY Number Line they are working on pinching and releasing the clothespins as well as important math concepts.

This Feather Color Sorting and Fine Motor Activity will work on fine motor skills and also teach kids about color recognition and sorting.

Fine Motor Messy Play

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These fun Watermelon Sculptures are a great summer activity to use your leftover watermelon for!

Your kids will feel like a wizard with this Mixing Potions activity.

Fine Motor Art

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Forget the paintbrushes and Paint with Pom Poms instead! Not only is this more fun for toddlers and younger preschoolers, but it’s great fine motor practice too.

This Tissue Paper Art is a great process-based art activity that weaves in tearing and pinching to work on fine motor skills.

Q-Tip Painting is another fun alternative to using traditional paintbrushes that helps with fine motor development.

This Paint with Spiders is a great creative art activity that also helps build fine motor skills!

Fine Motor Crafts

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This Spring Flower Butterfly Craft combines fine motor practice, math, art, and science all into one fun activity.

This Sticky Birthday Hat Craft provides a great chance for your kids to practice fine motor skills without even realizing it!

This Torn Paper Cave Craft will give your kids a chance to practice their fine motor skills in a fun art project.

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The folding process in this Spider Headband Craft is a great chance for your kids to practice their fine motor skills, and kids have so much fun using them for pretend play when they are done.

To add in some fine motor practice to this Torn Paper Christmas Arts and Crafts, have your kids help tear the paper!

Practice scissor skills with this free printable fine motor monster craft.

Fine Motor Pretend Play

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This fun Itsy Bitsy Spider Sticky Wall is a great spider theme fine motor activity or a fun Halloween activity that incorporates fine motor skills.

Play dough activitiesare another great way to strengthen those fine motor muscles. You can use play dough on its own or create invitations to play related to your child’s interests. Some of our favorites have been spider play dough, flower garden play dough, and apple play dough.

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20 Engaging Fine Motor Activities for Kids - Fantastic Fun & Learning (2024)

FAQs

What would be the best example of a fine motor skill? ›

What are Fine Motor skills? Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands, commonly in activities like using pencils, scissors, construction with lego or duplo, doing up buttons and opening lunch boxes.

What is an example of a fine motor activity a preschooler can accomplish? ›

Play-dough and putty

They can also help improve a child's fine motor skills. Encourage your child to squeeze, stretch, pinch and roll “snakes” or “worms” with the play clay. You can even have your child try to cut the play-dough with scissors.

What are 4 activities that you can implement to support learners fine motor development? ›

There are so many great construction toys that help children develop the muscles in their hands. Snapping blocks together, turning bolts and nuts, and fitting pegs into pegboards are all activities that naturally grow finger strength and build fine motor skills.

What are the big 6 fine motor skills? ›

Precision teachers often build frequencies on the Big 6 + 6, which include reach, touch, point, place, grasp, release, push, pull, shake, squeeze, tap, and twist (Binder, Haughton, & Bateman, 2002; Desjardins 1995).

What is fine motor and examples? ›

Fine Motor Skills: Definition

Fine motor skills are the ability to use the small muscles in our hands and wrists to complete tasks like writing or using scissors.

What is a fine motor skill task? ›

Fine motor skills are the ability to make movements using the small muscles in our hands and wrists. We rely on these skills to do key tasks in school, at work, and in everyday life. These small movements come so naturally to most people that we usually don't think about them.

Is coloring a fine motor skill? ›

Manipulating crayons improves a child's dexterity and fine motor skills. Coloring improves hand-eye coordination, which is essential in learning to write letters. Kids learn about force with crayons. A mark can be light or very dark depending on the amount of pressure they use when they draw.

What activities encourage fine motor skills? ›

Provide interesting experiences which help children practice fine motor skills. Cooking, gardening, sewing, fixing and making things are all good examples of activities that involve using tools and small movements with accuracy and precision.

Is braiding a fine motor skill? ›

One such activity is braiding, which can be introduced to children as young as three years old. Braiding helps develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and a sense of order.

How do puzzles help fine motor skills? ›

Puzzles Develop Fine Motor Skills

Toddlers and small children exercise their fine motor skills when they do Puzzles. Grasping and fiddling with puzzle pieces activates the smaller muscles in your child's hands and wrists, while selecting and placing the individual pieces improves your child's hand-eye coordination.

How do children develop fine motor skills? ›

Your child's fine motor skills will develop through every day actions and at playtime with activities that involve grasping, holding, and pressing. They also will perfect the pincer grasp first through feeding and then through play and eventually by dressing themselves.

How do you promote fine motor skills in the classroom? ›

Activities involving cutting and sticking offer an alternative to drawing but still promote fine motor skills. Use a variety of materials like paper, cardboard and fabrics for practising cutting different textures. This helps enhance hand-eye coordination and hand dexterity.

Which of the following activities promote motor development in children? ›

Activities to Support Gross Motor Development

A crawling tunnel, ride-on car, or pull toy can help children practice large movements of their arms and legs.

What would be the most appropriate way to help preschool children develop fine motor skills? ›

Easy activities such as stringing beads, snipping paper strips, cutting coupons, handling clay or dough and bending and shaping pipe cleaners will help your child use their imagination and build the fine motor skills necessary for their development.

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