Fine Motor How To

Are you worried that your toddler or preschooler isn’t developing the fine motor skills to be able to write “on time”? Well, the good news is that you’re probably worrying about nothing! If you’re providing lots of play opportunities, reading daily, and limiting screen time, your kiddo is most likely right on track.

But just in case, I’ve put together this Fine Motor Activities How To. It provides important tips to help you figure out how to choose fine motor toys and activities. Because playing with those is one of the first and most important parts of being able to write.

Choosing Toys

When you choose fine motor toys for your kids, make sure they have at least one of these features: Push, Twist, Pinch or Pull! And provide a variety, as each of those skills works those little fingers in different ways. Here are a few examples.

PUSH:

These pegs by Lauri are a great option for the Push feature. Plus, they have a lovely smooth feel that’s appealing to kids.

TWIST:

These Wooden Nuts and Bolts are a great option for twisting. I love that they aren’t plastic!

PINCH

All of my felt sets require kids to pinch the pieces to pick them up and move them around. My DIY Sets are particularly good for this skill, as the point is to build, take apart, and rebuild in a whole new way.

PULL:

Try a stringing toy like these Melissa and Doug beads. Wood again, naturally 🙂

Choosing Activities:

Hopefully you use play dough regularly, and have either a sensory table, a water table, or both in your home or classroom! Be thoughtful when you choose materials to use with these amazingly wonderful sensory experiences. Tools that have snap on or twist on lids require the kids to PUSH and TWIST.

Provide scoops of varying sizes with varying lengths and widths of handles. And, containers with wide or narrow openings force the fingers to maneuver in different ways. Provide funnels and bottles with different sized openings as well. And if you haven’t seen them yet, here’s a link to my play dough recipe, and this blog post on sensory tables might be helpful as well! Oh wait–here’s another fine motor activity you might also be interested in…

Ready to get your kids pinching?

Show Me The DIY Sets!