Developing your young children’s fine motor skills will allow them be more successful when they start school. It will help them with using scissors, holding pencils, writing, artwork and tying shoes.Here are some fun activities to do with your children to help them build up these small muscles.
Move the Marshmallows
You will need:
Kid-friendly tweezers
small marshmallow
ice-tray and/or other small containers
Make a pile of marshmallows and then have the children pick up one marshmallow at a time with the tweezers, and move it into one of the containers or sections of the ice-cube tray. For variations, have the kids race each other, time them and then see if they can beat their time, have the try it with their eyes closed or have them try it with different items (pom-poms, raisins, cereal, popcorn, marbles…)
Sticker Fun
Sheet of stickers for each child
Paper
Kids love stickers and who knew they could be such a great tool for kids to work on their fine motor skills. Peeling stickers off the backing helps kids develop their pincer grasp. Have your children take the stickers off the backing and put them onto a piece of paper. As they get more proficient at this, draw a big shape or a capital letter on a piece of paper and have them put the stickers only on the lines.
Sewing Cards
Shoelace
Cardstock (or any heavy paper)
Scissors
Hole punch
Cut out fun shapes from the cardstock. Then with the hole punch, make holes along the edge of the shape. Leave ¼- ½ inch between each hole. Using the shoelaces, have your children thread the shoestring in and out of the holes. For extra variation, have the kids color the shapes first. You can also use different types of materials for the sewing cards: thin cardboard, paper plates, felt or a side from a cereal box.
Have fun!
