Fine Motor Skills Activities
Hand skills are crucial to successful handwriting. Small movements of the hand are fine motor skills. If a child needs extra activities to strengthen fine motor skills, here are some suggestions:
- Cut pictures out of newspapers or magazines.
- Play with small beads, Legos, Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, and so forth.
- Knead and build with Play-Doh or clay.
- Find hidden objects in the Play-Doh or clay.
- Play pegboard games.
- Use tweezers to pick up small household objects and place them in a container.
- Play with any toys that involve manipulation of small pieces.
- Squirt water bottle outdoors on the sidewalk.
- Have a cotton ball race across the table.
- Finger paint with Jell-O or cocoa on a paper plate.
- Form letters with small marshmallows and toothpicks.
- String popcorn, buttons, or beads to make necklaces.
- Create a design on paper with a hole punch.
- Play tug-of-war with a coffee stirrer. Hold the stirrer only with the thumb and index finger.
Sensory Integration Activities
Incorporate handwriting with multisensory tactile experiences (e.g., writing on the mirror with foam soap, drawing in the sand).
Do a word search where children have to write the words as they find them. Play a visual memory game on the board where first, you give children a few letters; then let them look; and then erase them. They have to remember the letters on the board and write them neatly.