Fine motor skills are the ability to make small movements with the muscles in our hands and wrists. These skills are used in many daily activities at school, work, and everyday life. Below are some activities to help practice using these fine motor skills.
Pincer Grasp incorporates the index and thumb.
Stickers: Use pincer grasp to take off stickers:
- Using stickers to write out name.
- Putting stickers on a target’s space, such as a picture or a circle.
- Using stickers to make art.
- Bubble wrap: Using pincer grasp to pop bubble wrap:
- Paint/color each circle for color identification.
- Roll a dice to see how many to pop.
- Picking up dried beans/pony beads: Use a pincer grasp to pick up small items and put into a container:
- Color-code water bottles and have kiddo match beads to bottles.
- Roll a dice to see how many beads to put in the bottle.
- Use beads/beans in an art project.
Tripod Grasp incorporates the index, middle and thumb.
- Play dough/putty:
- Make a snake and use a tripod grasp to pinch play dough/putty.
- Play “hide and seek” with beads: Hide beads in putty and have kiddo find the beads using a tripod grasp.
- Dropper: use a tripod grasp to pick up liquid with the dropper:
- Transfer water into a bottle.
- Use water and paint to make art.
- Tongs: Use a tripod grasp on a pair of tongs to pick up small objects:
- Match different-colored pom-poms to matching colored cups.
- Transfer small toy animals from one bin to another.
- Hide and seek letters in a bin full of beans.
Lateral Grasp incorporates the side of the index finger and where the thumb meet, similar to turning a key.
- Hole punch: Using a lateral grasp on hole punch.
- Pinching clothespins:
- Write lowercase letters on a paper plate and uppercase letters on clothespins and have the child match.
- Match colored clothes pins onto colored paper.
- Hang clothes on a clothing line.
- Cup scissors: Use cup scissors to transfer small items (beads, pom-poms, beads, small figurines) to transfer into containers.
Cylindrical Grasp uses the whole hand grasp.
- Hanging on monkey bars: Strengthens the whole hand:
- Hanging in one place
- Moving forward on monkey bars
- Animal walks: Participating in different animal walks, making sure to place the whole hand flat on the ground to engage the muscles of the whole hand:
- Animal walk races.
- Simon Says.
- Animal yoga.
- Squeezing Out Sponges: Using the whole hand:
- Helping with dishes/cleaning/washing car.
- Transferring water from one container to another.