There are so many skills that our kids learn to master in their early school years. Fine motor skills involve the small muscles in hands and fingers that allow kids to perform daily tasks like writing, buttoning clothes, using utensils, etc. These skills are critical for a preschoolers’ development and their readiness for kindergarten.
At Beyond Speech, our occupational therapists often see how strong fine motor skills not only help our kids move well throughout their day but also build confidence and independence!
These skills are developed naturally in a lot of ways – self feeding, playing with smaller toys, coloring, etc. – but they can also be improved and strengthened through targeted practice and some really fun kid-approved activities.
Our philosophy is to ‘play with a purpose’. We believe children learn, grow and develop best when important skills, like fine motor work, is incorporated into their regular, every day activities.
We’ve got 5 ways you can improve your child’s fine motor skills by truly playing with a purpose!
Tip 1: Playdough & Clay Activities
Playdough and clay is a simple and readily available toy that really helps to strengthen the small hand muscles and improves finger dexterity.
Here are some simple ways to build skill development into this kid-approved activity.
Create Using Simple Movements
- Rolling into balls and snakes
- Pinching small pieces
- Making imprints with fingers
- Cutting with plastic tools
- Building shapes and structures
Mix In Some Basic Learning
- Form letters and numbers
- Create shapes and patterns
- Practice counting with small balls
- Build color recognition skills
Pro Tip: Change the play-dough or clay’s consistency (softer/firmer) to adjust difficulty level and build different muscle strengths
Tip 2: Art & Drawing Fine Motor Activities
One of our favorite ways to “play with a purpose” is to simply boost the activities that already require fine motor skills! Arts and crafts is one of those play activities that can easily work toward skill development.
Focus On Grip Development
- Use broken crayons to encourage proper grip
- Try triangular-shaped writing tools or rubber grippers on standard pencils or markers
- Practice with different sizes of markers
Make Drawing Activities Skill Focused
- Tracing basic shapes
- Coloring in the lines or boundaries
- Drawing lines (vertical, horizontal, diagonal)
- Making circles and curves in one motion
Tips for Success:
– Start with larger surfaces, then progress to smaller spaces
– Use vertical surfaces (easel, wall) to build shoulder strength
– Praise effort over perfection! Trying is just as important and getting it right!
Tip 3: Daily Living Fine Motor Skill Practice
Fine motor skills are crucial to everyday living and as kids grow and learn new daily skills there is so much opportunity to work those small muscles!
Turn your everyday activities into fine motor practice for your children.
Focus on Independent Dressing Skills
- Buttoning large buttons
- Pulling zippers
- Snapping snaps
- Practicing with shoelaces
Make Mealtime Skill Practice
- Using child-sized utensils
- Opening containers
- Pouring water from small pitchers
- Practicing with tongs
Simple Ways To Make Daily Living Skills Fun!
- Create a dress-up station with items that require buttons, snaps and zippers
- Set up pretend play scenarios using dressing or feeding tools
- Turn everyday activities into games
- Use a timer challenge for older preschoolers
Tip 4: Fine Motor Games & Puzzles
Once you understand and see all the ways you can help your preschooler build fine motor skills, you’ll start to see opportunities everywhere! And one of the most fun fine motor play is in the games and puzzles you probably already have!
Here’s some games and puzzle activities that are great for fine motor development.
- Family Game Favorites
- The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game
- Don’t Break The Ice!
- Googly Tower (like Jenga but for smaller kids)
- Lite-Brite
Puzzles & Other Activities
- Lacing cards
- Age-appropriate puzzles
- Building with blocks
- Sorting small objects
- Stacking games
Safety Note: Always supervise activities with small objects.
Tip 5: Pre-Writing Activities
Preschoolers are just starting to learn those important writing skills and writing is all fine motor! Help prepare them for writing success with these simple activities.
To get you started, here is a great website where you can download pre-writing practice sheets.
Basic Writing Strokes
- Vertical lines (up/down)
- Horizontal lines (side to side)
- Diagonal lines
- Circles and curves
Fun Ways To Practice Pre-writing Skills
- Writing in sand
- Using shaving cream
- Chalk on sidewalk
- Paint with water
- Finger tracing
Remember: Focus on proper grip and writing form rather than perfect strokes. Always make your activities play focused and praise the effort your child is putting into their new skills!
When To Seek Help With Fine Motor Skills
While developing fine motor skills is part of a child’s development, it’s also very normal for kids to struggle with them as well. If you’re concerned about your child’s fine motor ability, start with looking at these areas:
Are they:
- having consistent difficulty with basic fine motor tasks?
- frustrated when attempting fine motor activities?
- avoiding drawing/writing or other fine motor activities?
- delayed in any other developmental milestones?
If you are seeing some of these struggles, there are lots of ways to support them! The first step would be to speak to your pediatrician about your concerns or, if you’d like a more direct route, you can reach out to a pediatric therapy practice like ours.
At Beyond Speech Therapy Services, our fantastic OTs work privately, in-home with families in the Chicago west and south suburbs. These one-to-one sessions allow our therapists to work with your child and build skills and address challenges all in the comfort and familiarity of your own home.
We love to play with a purpose and help your child find success! Reach out to us here or call (779) 435-0724. We can’t wait to support you!
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